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: 


! 


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-    . 


-  - 


•  - 

.    -  -  -  • 


DINAH, 


NEW    YORK: 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER,  124  GRAND  STREET, 
1861. 


KNTEKED,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the-  year  1861,  by  M.  A.  MOOKE, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  Dis 
trict  of  New  York. 


JOHN  F.  TROW, 

PRINTER,  STEREOTYHER,  AND  ELECTROTYPEK, 

48  &  50  Greene  Street. 

New  York. 


DINAH. 


CHAPTER   I. 

CHABLES. — HIS   MOTHEK. ilE.    POMPXEY. — 1IIS   ANOESTOB,    THE 

PIOKEEE. 

0 

Lsr  a  stately  theatre  of  woods  and  waters  in  my 
country,  at  a  proper  bucolical  distance  from  the  sound- 
ins;  of  the  sea,  there  stands  a  summer  house,  to  which 

O  '  J 

two  or  three  years  ago  as  the  lustre  of  the  season  was 
mounting  to  its  noon,  came  a  lady  and  her  son  to  re 
tire  awhile  from  the  gilded  artificialities  of  city  life. 
The  patient  vicar  who  is  intrusted  with  the  care  of  the 
human  flock,  must  have  laughed  a  little  when  he  came 
to  look  over  these  people,  who  were  expending  the 
busiest  portion  of  their  time  chiefly  in  meditating  upon 
the  disagreeable  necessity  of  passing  through  the  re 
mainder. 

The  house  stands  in  a  bosky  silence ;  the  broken 
accents  of  the  waters  and  the  conversation  of  the  birds 
seem  no  louder  than  a  reposing  poet  would  dream  those 
of  lazy-land  to  be ;  though  sometimes,  of  course,  the 
storms  come  by  here,  roaring  on  high  like  ocean  shells 


2C4741S 


4  DINAII. 

to  the  infant's  ear.  On  the  romantic  fields  about,  a 
while  ago,  a  native  genius  whose  soul  was  sick  with  a 
multitude  of  parallelograms  tried  to  subdue  nature  to 
an  angular  harmony.  With  some  gentle  touches  of  a 
rounded  growth,  the  goddess  accepted  his  landscape 
poem,  and  incorporated  it  as  a  fair  chapter  of  her 
greater  work  around,  which  was  to  be  read  further  in 
the  scenic  horroi*  of  the  mountains  in  the  distance  and 
the  waving  forests  rising  over  each  other  on  the  sides 
thereof  in  theatric  grandeur. 

The  proprietor  of  this  farm,  at  that  period,  was  a 
gentleman  by  the  name  of  Pompney,  whose  grand 
American  ancestor  was  the  pioneer  who  first  settled  the 
grant  upon  which  the  farm  stands,  and  whose  grand 
father,  it  was  reported,  (as  he  had  returned  to  this  place 
enriched  with  the  money  of  romantic  marine  adven 
ture,)  had  been  a  sea-cook,  and  whose  father,  in  con 
sequence,  was  a  terrible  "  son  of  a  sea-cook."  From 
this  extraordinary  derivation  of  his  blood,  he  had  be 
come  so  saturated  with  pride  of  lineage  that  he  went 
to  the  expense  of  keeping  a  poet  to  bring  forth  family 
traditions,  (the  same  individual  who  discovered  his 
genius  in  other  walks  of  art,  and  sowed  the  grounds 
about  with  broken-nosed  statues,  &c.)  After  an  ap 
prenticeship  in  seventeen  variations  of  the  pirate  and 
twenty-six  of  his  son,  this  ingenious  native's  talents 
culminated  in  the  invention  of  an  epic  in  poetic  prose 
concerning  the  pioneer.  The  next  day  after  his  arrival, 
while  wandering  in  the  garret,  (for  sinister  purposes, 
perhaps,)  Charles  discovered  this  manuscript.  Its  com 
mencement  amused  him.  It  was  represented  that  one 
morning  somewhere  between  the  years  1600  and  1700, 
Sir  Guy  de  Pompion,  of  Korman  blood,  left  the  white 


DINAH.  5 

cliffs  of  his  native  home  in  the  good  ship  Hottentot, 
(it  being  hinted  that  he  was  also  in  a  state  of  intoxica 
tion,)  to  found  for  aye  his  noble  race  in  the  wilds  of 
the  !N^ew  World — one  of  the  rare  instances  where  there 
were  not  three  brothers  of  the  original  family  who  came 
over,  but  only  one.  On  the  voyage  a  severe  storm 
arose,  but  throwing  some  of  the  steerage  passengers 
overboard,  they  lightened  the  ship  and  she  reached 
America  in  safety.  In  his  native  laud,  his  nature  had 
been  almost  decomposed  by  some  unexpected  remarks 
from  the  lady  of  his  soul.  Having  asked  her  one  day, 
in  the  high  jinks  of  his  feelings,  if  she  would  have  him 
for  better  or  worse,  she  replied  that  she  had  come  to 
the  conclusion,  from  a  minute  investigation  of  his  weak 
nesses,  that  it  would  only  be  for  worse,  and  she  had 
better  not ;  that  she  thought  she  could  never  become 
acclimated  to  him,  for  instance,  (probably  alluding  to 
his  fondness  for  tobacco  and  Hollands.) 

In  consequence  of  this  unexpected  confession,  being 
desirous  of  getting  as  far  into  the  woods  as  possible,  he 
started  off  and  linally  reached  these  green  forests  with 
a  grant  of  the  lands  about,  and  a  suit  of  his  ancestor's 
armor  in  his  trunk,  under  the  weight  of  which,  when 
clad  therein,  he  was  continually  falling  down.  Here  he 
erected  a  stone  house  of  the  composite  order,  which  was 
a  decided  proof,  from  its  unrequired  irregularity,  that 
necessity  was  not  the  mother  of  invention  in  his  case ; 
being  assisted  in  the  work  by  the  circumambient  sons 
of  the  forest,  who  at  the  same  time  freely  extended  to 
him  their  succor  in  the  consumption  of  the  well-known 
energetic  beverages  of  the  day.  Indeed,  as  long  as 
there  were  any  of  these  in  his  rundlets,  the  eccentric 
aborigines  were  very  friendly  and  polite ;  but  whenever 


6  DINAH. 

his  kegs  smelt  of  emptiness,  they  were  accustomed  to 
declare  war  against  him  immediately,  to  surprise  him, 
and  take  him  prisoner,  armor  and  all. 

After  a  life  of  vicissitude  in  this  respect,  in  which 
it  seemed  he  was  continually  being  captured,  and  con 
tinually  ransoming  himself  with  new  stocks  of  the 
incendiary  waters,  he  was  finally  slaughtered  by  a 
princess  while,  in  the  afternoon  silence  of  a  summer- 
day,  he  was  dreaming  in  quiet  sorrow  at  a  window,  of 
one  who  was  far  away.  In  this  wild  daughter  of  the 

v  O 

woods  whom  he  took  to  himself  with  all  the' solemnity 
of  disappointed  affection,  he  fancied,  faithful  creature, 
a  rapturous  contrast  to  her  whom  he  left  in  his  cradle- 
home.  However,  (to  abbreviate  an  elongated  narra 
tive,)  for  the  purpose  of  furthering  some  social  plan, 
in  spite  of  his  upraised  and  wounded  wrist,  she  insinu-  m 
ated  into  his  soul  a  flinty  dagger,  and  he  died,  leaving 
an  heir  of  course. 

After  the  poet  had  ingeniously  manufactured  this 
stirring  tradition,  of  which  the  foregoing  are  the  dry 
bones  without  the  flesh  of  the  poesy  or  even  their  own 
enamel,  he  submitted  it  to  his  friend,  the  descendant 
of  this  heroic  pioneer.  In  the  trueness  of  first  thoughts 
the  old  gentleman  immediately  ducked  down  into  ec 
stasies  of  admiration  at  it ;  but  afterwards,  in  the  ine 
briety  of  reflection,  came  to  object  with  growing  firm 
ness  to  the  disagreeable  inference  therefrom  of  being 
descended  from  a  red  Indian ;  and  although  the  male 
siren  who  sung  the  song,  endeavored  to  persuade  him 
in  a  silvery  manner  that  he  might  trifle  with  the  chastity 
of  history  enough  to  make  this  spendthrift  female  a 
beautiful  Dutch  girl  taken  captive  in  infancy  from  the 
Albany  settlements,  this  only  seemed  to  make  the  mat- 


DINAH. 


ter  more  unsatisfactory ;  and  indeed,  towards  the  close 
of  his  career,  the  old  gentleman,  who  had  evidently  ex 
perienced  a  sad  reverse  in  his  natural  feelings,  seemed 
disgusted  with  all  the  legends. 

However  they  are*ambered  in  the  belief  of  many 
farmers  about  the  neighborhood,  who  love  to  dwell 
particularly  upon  this  one  of  the  pioneer — affirming 
further  that  he  and  his  murderess  are  accustomed  to 
rise,  the  one  from  his  sarcophagus  by  the  side  of  the 
church,  and  the  other  from  her  charnel-wigwam  in  the 
ancient  Indian  burial-ground,  and  wander  in  wrangling 
about  the  neighboring  country,  or  even  to  the  house 
again ;  for,  in  expanding  it  from  its  humble  origin,  as 
the  pioneer's  dwelling,  into  a  lofty  modern  romance,  its 
successive  owners  had  preserved  in  the  morning  fresh 
ness  of  a  new  architecture  the  sunset  hue  of  the  old -tra 
dition  about  it.  Further,  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
have  the  more  shadowy  tradition  that  the  spirits  of  the 
poor  aborigines  in  whose  midst  the  pioneer  dwelt,  on 
still  summer  days  in  the  woods  of  the  estate,  are  yet 
accustomed  to  sit  down  in  grisly  files  to  grand  shadowy 
banquets,  in  ghostly  continuance  of  some  mysterious 
piety  of  their  earthly  lives.  Noises  not  easily  accounted 
for  have  been  heard  at  unusual  hours  in  different  places 
of  the  neighborhood,  and  mysterious  and  wildly  attired 
beings  also  have  been  frequently  met,  who  could  give 
no  satisfactory  account  of  themselves,  and  who  also 
generally  managed  to  disappear  in  the  most  unexpected 
and,  as  it  were,  unearthly  manner,  without  a  proper  ex 
planation  of  their  presence.  The  fact  that,  on  several 
of  these  occasions  spoons  and  other  utensils  have  been 
missed  from  the  neighborhood,  has  corroborated  the 
possibility  of  these  supernatural  feasts — being  taken 


8  DINAH. 

•without  doubt  by  these  ghostly  beings  for  use  at  the 
same.  So  reason,  in  a  triumphant  manner,  the  Atlases 
of  these  traditions. 

But  let  us  chase  from  our  minds  all  unseemly  levity 
and  idle  thought.  I  will  desecrate  no  longer  the  solemn 
dignity  of  these  ancient  woods  and  their  legends.  The 
chill  of  doubt,  the  flush  of  pride,  the  sparkle  of  cour 
age,  the  convulsion  of  remorse,  the  grandeur  of  fidelity, 
the  hopes  and  fears  of  human  hours,  are  also  parts  of 
a  mystery. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   NOCTUEN".      . 

THERE  was  nothing  stirring  in  the  silence  of  the 
night  but  the  spoilt  child  of  the  winds,  idling  from  the 
west  in  his  dallying  way.  All  the  rest  of  the  house 
hold  had  retired,  and  their  limbs  long  since  were  pal 
sied  in  the  exquisite  idiocy  of  sleep,  while  Charles,  the 
weary  bearer  to  himself  of  the  empty  tales  of  this  world, 
sat  bent  upon  his  bed  with  one  boot  off,  listening  in  an 
ecstasy  of  revery  to  his  own  genius  as  she  expatiated 
upon  the  absurdities  of  this  mortal  state.  His  mind 
reverted  to  the  past,  the  darkness  and  the  breeze  in  these 
lofty  groves  a  hundred  years  back  !  "  So  that  is  the 
romantic  window  in  which  the  wild  pioneer  sat  when 
the  Indian  slew  him !  Pshaw !  the  old  fellow's  ro 
mance  is  as  insipid  as  reality  is  nowadays  !  "  Still  re 
flecting,  as  he  disrobed  himself,  upon  the  tradition  of 
the  pioneer,  he  fell  down  upon  his  pillows,  and  after  a 


DINAH.  9 

lengthy  period  of  the  night  expended  in  the  varied 
gymnastics  of  restlessness,  or  in  sound  repose,  his  con 
sciousness  finally  reached  that  state  in  which,  though 
the  soul  has  no  longer  its  royal  intercourse  with  the 
outer  world,  the  imagination  still  makes  use  of  the  im 
mediate  objects  of  the  senses  in  the  structure  of  its  airy 
figments. 

The  night  had  now  sunk  into  such  a  deep  stillness 
that  thought  even  would  have  seemed  noisy ;  the 
breeze  moved  the  lacery  of  the  curtains  only  in  the 
hushed  fairy  way  which  some  women's  hands  have, 
and  that  dark  illumination,  coming  from  the  yet  un- 
ariseii  moon,  which  may  be  fancied  to  be,  it  is  so  faint, 
no  more  than  the  feeble  effort  of  unhappy  Darkness  to 
assimilate  her  character  to  that  of  her  brighter  sister, 
had  raised  in  feeble  relief  the  various  objects  in  the 
chamber,  when  the  door  of  the  room  opened,  and  a 
person,  with  head  bowed  down  upon  his  bosom,  coming 
quietly  in,  walked  slowly  and  irregularly  to  the  win 
dow  where  the  ancient  pioneer  left  his  life.  There, 
with  the  air  which  people  have  when  they  reflect 
deeply  upon  some  secret  sorrow,  he  sank  into  the  chair 
which  stood  by  its  side,  and  remained  in  that  melan 
choly  attitude.  The  dream,  if  it  were  not  reality,  was 
such  a  ^  cunning  counterfeit  that  the  recumbent  young 
man  endeavored,  though  in  vain,  to  shake  off  the  rigid 
spell  which  entranced  his  limbs,  while  the  drops  of  per 
spiration"  gathered  upon  his  brow.  If,  indeed,  this  were 
creature  of  reality,  with  his  soul  thus  wrapt  far  away 
in  the  ethereal  depths  of  sorrowful  abstraction,  he  had 
given  up  the  wish,  or  the  power  had  been  suddenly 
wrested  from  him,  of  consummating  the  earthly  errand 
which  brought  him  hither,  whether  of  deadly  violence 
1* 


10  DINAH. 

or  of  softer  crime.  Just  as  the  closing  mist  of  sleep 
shut  out  this  witch-like  vision  from  his  mind,  the  young 
man  seemed  to  understand  that  a  purring  cat  was  rub 
bing  her  back  against  the  chair  of  the  phantom  as  if 
for  recognition. 

Soon  the  *  clouds  of  unconsciousness  floated  away 
again,  and  disclosed  to  his  disordered  intelligence  a 
curious  series  of  dissolving  phantasmagoria.  "While 
he  seemed  to  himself  to  be  struggling  to  scrutinize 
the  indistinguishable  lineaments  of  his  visitor  half- 
turned  towards  him,  they  appeared  to  become  dis- 
limned  or  changed  with  wild  rapidity  into  novel  and 
grotesque  shapes,  although  the  same  single  expression 
of  sadness,  curiously  enough,  remained  through  them 
all,  being  perhaps  the  substratum  of  the  thought  which 
cunningly  furnished  forth  the  whole  scene.  This  change 
succeeded  also  in  the  form  as  well  as  the  face  of  the  vis 
itant.  As  it  had  first  seemed  the  figure  of  a  youth 
struck  motionless  with  sudden  remorse  at  his  unex 
ecuted  intention,  it  now  changed  to  that  of  an  aged 
man  bowed  with  years  of  degradation  and  misery. 
Then  it  assumed  the  romantic  form  of  the  hoofed  fiend 
or  satyr  doing  his  worst  and  mocking  sorrow,  to  be 
transformed  as  quickly  into  a  phantom  statue — the 
classic  form  of  the  emotion  of  sorrow  chiselled  out  of 
the  sleeper's  eccentric  brain.  As  rapidly  as  this  dis 
order  had  taken  place  in  the  whole  scene  did  it  flit  into 
sudden  composure.  The  sleeper  thought  he  saw  the 
mystery  more  as  if  raising  his  countenance  to  gaze  in 
vacancy  upon  the  obscure  scenery  outside,  and  receive 
upon  his  brow  the  gentle  air  which  came  in  wooingly. 
Had  the  spirit  of  the  pioneer  thus  wandered  again  from 
his  bed  of  dust  to  seek  the  sorrowful  scene  of  his  earthly 


DINAH.  11 

existence  ?  A  deep  sigh,  and  a  feeble,  suppressed  mut 
tering  escaped  his  unearthly  lips,  and  wringing  those 
real  hands  whose  dusty  counterparts  were  crumbling 
beneath  the  sod,  he  started  but  to  sink  again  at  the 
bitterness  of  feelings  which  it  seemed  were  to  live  for 
ever  in  his  bosom.  Here  a  new  actor,  apparently  of  the 
other  sex,  entered  the  scene,  for  a  still  image  standing 
suddenly  by  the  door  discovered  itself  to  the  conscious 
ness  of  the  sleeper  as  the  fatal  sweetheart  of  the  past. 
"With  the  habiliments  of  woman  thrown  loosely  around 
her  and  thus  retained  by  one  hand,  which  was  dis 
closed  with  the  face  and  bosom,  the  stooping  shoulders 
and  bare  feet  only  by  a  whiter  reflection,  she  seemed  to 
have  stopped  for  a  startled  moment  to  listen  breath 
lessly  in  the  silence,  in  playing  over  again  the  watch 
of  her  purposed  victim  in  the  old  tragedy.  And  now 
apparently  casting  a  rapid  glance  about  the  room,  a 
glance  which,  from  the  movement  of  her  head,  seemed 
to  the  sleeper  to  rest  for  an  anxious  moment  upon  him, 
she  sped  rapidly,  with  firm  but  noiseless  steps,  to  the 
mysterious  personage  in  the  embrasure.  From  his  lips 

there  dropped  a  singular  babble  of  surprise  and 

Here  the  shadows  again  fell  like  a  curtain  over  the 
soul  of  the  sleeper.  The  forms  as  they  stood  there,  and 
the  whole  scene,  faded  at  once  into  nothingness. 

But  his  limbs  stirred,  for  his  entranced  dream  was 
breaking  up,  and  he  was  emerging  from  the  shadowy 
into  the  real  world  again.  Disenthralled  from  the 
bond  of  his  trance,  he  leaped  in  faint  bewilderment 
upon  the  floor,  and  seizing  the  pitcher  of  water  from 
its  basin  with  a  sleepy  inspiration  of  defence,  he  rushed 
instinctively  to  the  door  and  cried  an  alarm,  in  a 
voice  weak  with  excitement.  He  glanced  around  the 


12  DINAH. 

room,  and  down  the  shadowy  corridor,  along  which  the 
wind  gently  sighed,  but  could  distinguish  no  moving 
object.  The  light  of  the  rising  moon  stole  through  the 
leaves,  and  into  the  casement  at  the  distant  end.  Amid 
her  clear  beams,  he  saw  at  the  head  of  the  staircase  a 
cat  who  appeared  unalarmed  at  his  presence,  as  though 
consciously  protected  by  friends,  human  or  witch,  to 
whom  she  seemed  to  be  mewing  lightly  her  adieux. 

Had  the  instinctive  cry  of  the  young  man  been  heard 
by  any  of  the  inmates  of  the  household,  they  would,  of 
course,  have  already  spoken.  But  as  the  wide  hall  led 
away  from  the  modern  part  of  the  remodelled  house  to 
the  rough  stone  reminiscence  of  the  pioneer,  whose 
chamber  Charles  had  selected  for  its  coolness  as  his 
sleeping  apartment,  he  was  so  far  separated  from  the 
rest  of  the  household  that  his  voice  had  not  been  heard. 
He  had  at  first  turned  back  into  his  chamber,  but  now 
as  he  was  walking  towards  the  staircase,  a  dull,  un 
earthly  utterance  suddenly  broken  off  fell  on  his  ear 
and  stopped  him  in  surprise.  It  seemed  a  clear  reality 
indeed,  but  still  an  inarticulate  babbling  sound  sud 
denly  stopping,  as  when  a  drunken  man  asks  an  im 
proper  question,  and  his  lips  are  abruptly  sealed  by  the 
hand  of  the  impatient  listener.  A  slight  creaking  ap 
peared  to  take  place  on  the  lower  part  of  the  staircase, 
to  which  he  approached  in  bewilderment,  and  some 
thing  like  a  secret  anxious  whisper  was  borne  along  to 
Jiis  ear.  The  doors  of  the  hall  beneath  were  custom 
arily  left  open  at  night  in  the  summer  season,  to  take 
advantage  of  the  cooling  draughts  of  air,  but  naught 
there  attracted  his  attention  excepting  upon  the  glass 
panels  of  one  of  them  the  half  of  the  door-post's  shadow 
cut  by  the  planet's  oblique  flood.  There  was  no  crea- 


DINAH.  13 

ture  to  be  seen,  though  lie  plainly  heard  a  retreating 
pattering  noise,  the  footfalls  of  the  now  alarmed  pussy. 

"  By  Jove  !  what  is  this  ?  "  said  he,  as  he  wandered 
in  quick  yet  quiet  examination  even  upon  the  terrace 
outside,  "  there  is  no  one,  and  yet  that  ejaculation.  It 
seemed  so  distinct  and  peculiar  ! — (a  pause) — pshaw,  it 
was  the  cat ! — (another  pause) — to  be  sure !  I  have 
been  dreaming  about  the  pioneer,  and  am  half  asleep 
now  ; — how  stupid — luckily  no  one  has  been  disturbed. 
Gracious,  this  night  air  is  quite  cool  to  the — limbs — 
aw !  (yawning).  Ha !  what  is  that  ?  Jove,  how  stupid 
I  am.  The  slightest  noise  made  by  the  breeze  startles 
me. — "Well,  this  is  amusing." 

Returning  to  his  room  with  uncertain  feelings,  he 
awaited  in  indefinite  expectation  some  further  develop 
ment,  but  after  a  varied  reflection  upon  the  singularity 
of  his  vision,  as  nothing  further  disturbed  the  deep 
silence,  he  commenced  to  pass  the  night  in  the  hum 
drum  manner  of  nature  recuperating  herself. 


;  .  CHAPTER  III. 

NEIGHBOR   LATTEA. 

ONE  day,  soon  after  his  arrival,  Charles's  aunt,  a 
maiden  lady  who  had  now  reached  the  age  of  from 
twenty-nine  to  seventy,  and  who  was  the  permanent 
resident  of  the  country-house,  proceeded  to  visit  an  old 
gentleman  of  the  neighborhood  and  his  daughter,  a  lively 
young  lady  who  had  lately  arrived  from  the  metropolis, 


14:  DINAH. 

and  for  whom  in  callow  times  Charles  had  ruffled  his 
pin-feathers  in  tender  pride  as  her  especial  playmate. 
The  indefinite  idea  of  a  union  between  these  two  families 
from  motives  connected  with  a  long  friendship,  had 
frequently  passed  through  the  minds  of  the  elder  mem 
bers  thereof,  and  as  it  is  usual  in  these  cases  to  keep  the 
project  with  some  secrecy  from  those  most  interested 
until  the  period  when  they  think  for  themselves  and 
marry  whomsoever  they  please,  it  had  not  assumed  a 
shape  until  Charles's  late  return  from  the  old  world, 
whither  he  went  to  finish  his  education,  (by  getting 
stoned  by  Arabs  in  ancient  cities,  or  scouring  deserts 
on  the-  top  of  camels,)  and  until  the  recent  eman 
cipation  of  the  young  lady  from  a  boarding-school, 
which  came  pretty  near  finishing  her's.  The  aunt,  and 
the  young  lady's  father  in  particular,  had  already  con 
versed  frequently  and  with  fervor  upon  the  subject,  the 
former  taking  a  maiden  aunt's  interest  in  it ;  and  as  she 
had  dropped  the  alarming  observation  that  the  family 
union  could  be  accomplished  at  any  rate  by  his  marrying 
her  in  case  the  young  people  should  not  fancy  each  other, 
the  latter  had  also  become  quite  frantic  in  his  zeal  for 
the  proposition.  It  being  observed  by  the  two,  with 
some  sentiments  of  chagrin,  since  the  advent  of  the 
young  people  in  the  neighborhood,  that  the  young  lady 
was  disposed  to  be  universal  and  love  everybody,  while 
the  young  man  seemed  possessed  of  scarce  enough  of 
the  divine  afflatus  to  bestow  upon  himself — the  spinster, 
after  much  study,  had  hit  upon  an  ingenious  plan  of 
directing  the  young  people  towards  each  other,  which 
was  immediately  agreed  to  by  the  other  conspirator,  as 
he  had  discovered  that  he  hadn't  the  slightest  power  of 
originating  one  himself. 


DINAH.  15 

On  reaching  the  mansion  of  the  old  gentleman, 
Charles,  who  had  accompanied  his  aunt,  having  nothing 
in  particular  to  say  as  usual,  accepted  the  challenge  of 
the  young  lady  to  a  game  of  billiards,  and  the  relatives 
being  thus  left  alone,  the  following  colloquy  took  place 
between  them. 

SPINSTER,  in  a  startling  manner.  "  The  Misses 
"White  took  riding  lessons  !  " 

LAUKA'S  PARENT.     "  Eh,  did  they,  indeed  ?  " 

AUNT,  with  severity.  "  They  had  eruptions,  and 
were  disappointed  in  their  expectations." 

"  God  bless  me.  You  don't  say  so.  Did  they  have 
eruptions  because  they  were  disappointed,  or  was  it 
vice  versa  f  " 

"  Oh,  lor,  how  abstracted  I  am  becoming,  to  be  sure, 
Mr.  "Wellwood.  I  was  thinking  of  some  dear,  dear 
friends  you  are  unacquainted  with — aye — 'twas  but  the 
revery  of  friendship  !  Forgive  me  !  " 

"  Well,  I  will  this  time,"  said  the  old  gentleman, 
with  a  suspicious  air. 

"  How  natural  the  young  people  look  together," 
said  the  old  maid,  after  a  pause. 

"  Yes,  it's  very  natural  for  'em  to  be  together  just 
now.  It  reminds  me  of  an  occurrence  like  it,  which — " 

"  Certainly !  of  course !  And  do  you  remember  our 
last  conversation,  Mr.  Wellwood  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  and  we  must  press  'em,"  said  the  other, 
with  sudden  liveliness. 

"  But  what  if  we  should  not  succeed  ?  Aye,  what 
if  fate  should  have  decreed  that  the  union  of  our 
families  may  never  take  place — at  least  in  this  way, 
although — " 

"  Fate  is  all  right.   (Heavens !   She  is  commencing — 


16  DINAH. 

it  reminds  me  of  a  man  I  once  knew,  precisely  in  a 
similar  condition  of  peril,  by  energetic  measures,  thus 
and  thus,  he  saved  himself.  I  must  keep  it  up  !)  Hoo 
ray  !  We  must  succeed.  "We'll  manage  them.  Yes, 
you  take  one  side  and  I — " 

"  Oh  !  I  pray  you  do  not  get  excited  yet,  Mr.  Well- 
wood,"  said  the  old  maid,  somewhat  pettishly.  "In 
deed,  you  must  reserve  your  energies.  Do  not  "be  in 
discreet,  Mr.  Wellwood,  and  have  confidence  in  me." 

"  Well,  I  won't,"  replied  the  other,  in  a  brief  man 
ner,  calming  down. 

Here,  on  a  sudden,  both  were  seized  with  a  desire 
to  talk  to  each  other  at  once  ;  the  spinster  being  filled 
with  the  immediate  execution  of  her  project,  and  the 
old  gentleman  being  reminded  of  an  occurrence  which 
he  had  heard  of.  However,  as  the  latter  was  obliged, 
after  a  few  determined  minutes,  to  give  up,  on  suddenly 
recollecting  that  the  point  of  his  narrative  was  slightly 
indelicate,  the  old  maid  proceeded  to  unfold  her  plan 
more  at  leisure,  and  reduced  it  finally  to  an  immediate 
execution.  By  the  time  she  had  finished,  the  young 
people  had  concluded  their  game,  and  soon  after  she 
took  occasion  to  walk  up  and  down  with  the  young  lady 
in  the  conservatory. 

"  Laura,  my  child,"  finally  said  she,  after  a  myste 
rious  silence,  "  I  am  about  to  reveal  a  secret  which 
doesn't  belong  to  me,  which — " 

"  You  are  certainly  correct.  If  it  doesn't  belong  to 
you,  you  have  no  right  to  keep  it  a  moment." 

"Yes,  well,  there  has  been  a  subject  upon  my  mind 
of  which  I  have  long  wished  to  divest  it.  It  may  not 
be  becoming  in  me,  and  indeed  I  don't  know  whether 
it  is  exactly  right — " 


DINAH.  17 

"  But  as  it  is  on  your  mind,  Adeline,  I  don't  see 
who  is  to  do  it,  unless  you  do,"  said  the  young  lady, 
persuasively. 

"  "Well,  then,  my  dear,  I  will  proceed.  There  are 
moments  when  we  feel,  as  it  were,  that  any  slight  de 
monstration  of  feeling,  by  acts  of  aifection  observed  in 
our  friends  in  reference  to  parties  not  yet  aware  that 
those  demonstrations  indicate  this  affection,  as  connect 
ed  with  such  feelings,  enables  us  at  once,  as  it  were,  to 
discriminate  with  reference  to  these  feelings  which — " 

"  Certainly,"  said  Laura. 

"  And  I  say  discriminate,  although  accompanying 
our  diagnosis  of  the  case,  there  may  be  natural  feelings 
of  interested  intimacy  which  we  ourselves  must  expe 
rience,  and  from  this  very  interest  which  thus  arises 
out  of  that  collateral  relationship,  we  may  be  said  to 
be,  in  a  measure,  both  the  physician  and  patient." 

"  I  do  not  know  precisely  what  you  intend  to  illus 
trate,  Adeline,  but  I  can  fully  appreciate  the  delicate 
difficulty  of  such  a  position.  "What  would  the  feelings 
of  the  physician  in  such  a  case  be,  for  instance,  if  he 
lost  his  patient  ?  " 

"  Yes,  this  is  a  serious  matter,  and  although  having 
an  intimate  relation  with  social  existence,  I  wish  to  con 
sider  it  here  only  as  touching  upon  that  more  personal 
point  which  I  referred  to  just  now,  to  be  sure,  and  being 
taken  as  connected  with  those  demonstrations  in  any 
other  matter  referring  to  that  point — •" 

("  Gracious  !  These — that — those — the  other ! )  By 
the  way,"  said  the  young  lady,  mildly,  "  before  we  pro 
ceed  any  further,  allow  me  to  observe,  Adeline,  that  what 
ever  this  problem  of  social  existence  may  be  to  which 
you  refer,  it  appears  to  be  one  of  a  very  abstruse  nature. 


18  DINAH. 

"Would  it  not,  therefore,  be  better  to  entertain  a  stricter 
economy  in  the  employment  of  demonstratives  ?  They 
are  a  very  useful  part  of  speech,  no  doubt,  but  quite 
confusing  when  immoderately  partaken  of." 

"  Well,  then,  I  will  come  to  it  at  once — yes,  ahem ! 
Have  you  not  noticed  the  singular  languishing  air  which 
has  lately  betrayed  itself  in  my  nephew  Charles,  my 
dear  girl  ? " 

"  Yes.  I  never  saw  such  laziness  and  indifference 
in  my  life." 

"  Oh,  no,  not  indifference,  but  melancholy  and  lan- 
guishment.  He  is  consumed  with  a  secret  passion  !  " 

"  What  ?  " 

"  A  longing,  lingering  passion,"  continued  the  old 
maid,  with  great  hesitation.  "  Yes — and  you — and 
you  its  sacred  object !  " 

"  Oh  dear — what  did  you  say  ?  " 

"  Yes,  he  probably  would  have  betrayed  his  ardent 
passion  ere  this  to  you,  but  no  doubt  he  feared  that  he 
might  be  taken  in,  so  to  say — excuse  the  phrase." 

"  Ha !  ha  !  Gracious  heavens  ! — but — " 

"  It  has  even  got  into  his  appetite.  He  can't  eat 
or  drink — think  of  it,  my  dearest  girl — such  is  his  pas 
sion  for  you  !  That  is,  with  any  ease." 

"  But  he  sleeps  with  facility,  I  can  assure  you. 
While  I  was  talking  with  him  the  other  night,  he  posi 
tively  went  to  sleep." 

"  Ah !  his  passion  sought  refuge  in  the  sweet  vis 
ions  of  slumber.  There  all  his  maddening  wishes 
seemed  reality  and — besides  that,  you  are  mistaken,  he 
didn't  go  to  sleep." 

"  Yes  !  and  what  is  more,  I  think — indeed — he 
snored !" 


DINAH.  19 

"  It  was  his  melancholy  choking  his  natural  utter 
ance." 

"  But  such  general  indifference." 

"  Ah,  there  it  is  ;  he  is  piqued  with  yours." 

"  But  there  might  he  some  slight  demonstration  ! — 
Dear  me  !  "  said  the  young  lady,  musing,  "  once  in  the 
city  just  after  he  returned  from  Europe,  I  remember  he 
seated  himself  by  my  side  and  said,  '  Laura ; '  then 
having  raised  his  .eyes  with  an  air  of  complaint  he 
suddenly  arose  and  walked  oif.  Though  the  conversa 
tion  was  brief,  his  manner  was  certainly  fervent !  " 

"  Yes !  yes  !  and  now,  my  dearest  girl — but  let  us 
go  to  the  billiard-room.  He  must  betray  his  passion. 
In  your  presence  there  must  be  moments  when  un 
guarded  looks  or  words  will  reveal  this  preying,  aye, 
consuming  secret !  Certainly  !  " 

The  placid  object  of  this  conversation  had  been 
making  a  most  malignant  run  at  billiards,  the  old  gen 
tleman's  part  of  the  game  being  in  fact  principally  to 
trot  around,  spot  the  balls,  and  mark  the  game.  In 
consequence  of  this,  and  from  the  irritating  fact  that 
he  didn't  know  how  to  commence  the  conversation 
which  he  desired  to  hold  with  the  young  man,  his  feel 
ings  soon  got  into  a  high  state  of  ferment. 

"  Bah  !  "  said  he,  "  I  give  up  the  game." 

"  Ha  !  ha  !  "  said  the  young  man,  lazily. 

"  Hang  me  if  I  want  him  for  a  son-in-law,"  mur 
mured  the  exasperated  old  gentleman. 

"  It  is  your  shot,"  cried  Charles  finally. 

"  Ah  !  you  missed,  eh  ?  "  said  the  old  gentleman, 
suddenly  mollified,  and  forgetting  altogether  about  the 
spinster's  important  project.  With  great  deliberation 
he  proceeded  to  execute  an  extraordinary  scratch  and 


20  DINAH. 

immediately  assumed  a  majestic  look.  Finding  the 
expression  of  grandeur  to  be  somewhat  inconvenient 
however,  he  contracted  himself  to  simpler  dimensions, 
and  proceeded  in  the  natural  tendency  of  his  benevo 
lence  to  inform  his  young  neighbor  what  he  might  ex 
pect  for  dinner,  if  he  stayed. 

"  See  him  !  "  said  the  aunt,  in  romantic  vivacity, 
entering  with  Laura,  "  worshipping  with  secret,  con 
suming  passion,  the  cruel  deity,  the  god  of  love — " 

"  Stuffed  with  olives,  and  swimming  in  his  own 
gravy !  "  said  the  young  man,  at  this  point.  "  Yes ! 
I'll  come  over  to-morrow.  If  there  is  any  thing  I  can 
adore,  it  is  a  fat  little  fellow  in  such  a  state." 

("  Gracious  !  "  said  the  aunt,  "  a  little  fat  fellow  in 
such  a  state  !  Dear  me,  Mr.  Wellwood  has  forgotten.) 
He  says  he's  coming  over  to-morrow,"  continued  she, 
quickly,  in  a  louder  tone.  "  What  for  ?  To  be  with 
you.  See,  see  the  hidden  meaning  of  passion  !  " 

"  Heavens  !  ha  !  ha !  what  a  disguise  to  assume  for 
one's  feelings.  However,  it  certainly  possesses  the 
merit  of  being  effective,"  said  the  lenient  young  lady. 

"  Do  you  know,  I  never  languished  so  much  in  my 
life  as  I  did  just  before  I  arrived  here,"  continued  the 
unconscious  young  man.  "  Time  passes  pretty  well 
here,  doesn't  it?  I  was  at  Pau,  last  summer,  and 
upon  my  word  a  half  dozen  of  us  didn't  do  any  thing 
but  get  up  in  the  morning  and  sit  all  day  long  upon 
the  piazza  wrangling  about  whose  watches  were  right 
and  whose  were  wrong.  One  has  a  little  enthusiasm 
here." 

"  Your  presence  inspires  him,"  said  the  aunt,  des 
perately,  in  a  whisper  to  Laura. 

"  And  it  is  that  very  thing.     I  think  it  comes  of 


DINAH.  21 

having  a  sharpened  appetite.  The  taking  of  food  al 
ways  produces  certain  agreeable  sensations  which  it  is 
impossible  wholly  to  annihilate,  by  Jove !  " 

"  Ha  !  ha  !  Heavens  !  if  my  presence  inspires  him 
in  this  way,  I  wouldn't  dare  to  let  him  have  my  hand 
to  kiss,"  said  the  young  lady  to  the  aunt.  "  He  would 
probably  commence  to  eat  it  to  show  his  devotion." 

"  Then  these  sleeping  arrangements  here  are  par 
ticularly  agreeable." 

"Mark — (the  wretch.  He  is  more  unromantic  at 
this  moment  than  ever,")  said  his  aunt,  in  a  state  of 
suppressed  exasperation,  and  with  a  smile  of  mildness. 
"  Mark,  he  refers  to  the  pleasant  visions  of  slumber  of 
which  you  are  the  loved  subject ! — (Oh  the  wretch  !  ") 

"  No  dyspeptic  dreams  to  disturb  one's  rest.  By 
the  way,  the  other  night  I — It  was  singular,"  contin 
ued  he,  with  a  serious  air,  passing  his  hand  over  his 
brow  and  musing,  "  I  wonder — it  was  quite  laughable, 
but  I  am  almost  sure — however — I  won't  say  any  thing 
now,  I  think — " 

"  Look  at  his  distraction,  Laura.  Can  you  wish  to 
have  any  thing  more  conclusive  than  that  ?  "  said  the 
persevering  aunt,  in  temporary  triumph. 

"  By  the  way,  whence  came  that  old  man  and  his 
daughter  you  have  on  the  place,  aunt  ?  "  asked  the 
young  man,  still  musing.  "  I  saw  them  eating  a 
divided  apple  under  a  tree,  with  a  lonely  pleasure 
which—" 

"  Gracious,  what  perversity  !  the  pleasure  of  eating 
again ! " 

"  The  manner  in  which  they  enjoyed  it  certainly 
attracted  me." 

"  Oh  dear !    this  puts  me  in  a  rage,"  said  the  old 


22  DINAH. 

maid  ;  "  I  never  saw  such  persistent  wrong-headedness 
in  my  life.  It  won't  do  to  stay  and  dine  here.  He  has 
become  temporarily  insane  on  the  subject  of  food.  It 
would  be  fatal." 

Discomfited  with  her  attempt,  she  broke  off  the  in 
terview  abruptly,  and  drove  off  home  with  her  nephew 
even  before  the  completion  of  a  narrative  which  the  old 
gentleman  had  now  commenced,  and  in  which  he  en 
deavored  to  perform  the  arduous  intellectual  feat  of 
beginning  at  the  middle  and  telling  it  both  ways. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

KTJUOLPH     AND     HIS     PASSION. 

AFAK  oif  stood  the  reverend  mountains.  The  woods 
were  waving  nearer,  and  there  were  rolls  of  velvet  in 
the  afternoon  air.  As  the  ethereal  breakers  baptized 
the  cheek  of  the  idle  Charles,  they  seemed  to  him  to 
come  down  from  those  Indian  years  and  green  forests 
of  the  past,  which  the  weird  dream  brought  up  to  his 
memory.  "While  seated,  in  this  soft  bewitchment,  upon 
his  terrace,  a  horse  came  up  the  way  beneath  the  trees 
so  swiftly  that  he  seemed  to  swell  up  to  the  house  like 
a  blast  of  the  breeze,  in  a  brilliant  equine  manner,  such 
as  the  prospect  of  oats  always  inspires  in  the  noble 
creatures.  There  was  a  young  lady  upon  him,  a  debo 
nair  capitalist  in  animation,  immediately  followed  by 
a  gentleman  who,  in  consequence  of  the  precarious  state 
of  affairs,  appeared  to  be  judiciously  absorbed  in  re 
volving  the  best  methods  of  keeping  his  seat. 


DINAH.  23 

"  Laura,  my  child  !  "  said  Charles's  mother,  in  quiet 
dignity. 

The  accompanying  gentleman  was  engaged  in  catch 
ing  his  breath.  Charles  Sauntered  up  to  her  horse  and 
extended  his  courtesy,  when  a  giffy  of  perturbation  and 
turmoil  whirled  in  his  stagnant  spirit,  and  as  the  mother 
folded  her  to  her  embrace,  Laura  blushed  at  his  air  in 
all  the  stammely  color  of  health. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you,"  said  the  fair  forefigure  of 
the  scene. 

"  Do  you  see  she  says  she  is  glad  to  see  you  ?  "  im 
mediately  commenced  the  aunt,  sotto  voce.  "Take  a 
sentimental  air  and  dignify  this  devoted  passion." 

"  It  is  singular !  She  certainly  looked  at  me  at 
that  moment  in  a  piercing  manner.  It  is  a  sudden  in 
fatuation  !  I  wonder  if  it  is  my  shape  or  my  intellect  ?  " 
reflected  the  young  man,  in  idle  vanity.  "  I  conjecture 
the  latter.  To  be  sure,  I  haven't  used  it  much  lately, 
but  its  original  dazzle  thus  appears  unimpaired  to  her. 
It  will  rain,  I  think,"  continued  he,  after  a  pause,  with 
spirit,  and  with  a  secret  sentiment  of  pity  for  the 
young  lady. 

"Yes,  do  you  know,  I  thought  so  before  I  left 
home  ?  "  said  the  latter,  in  great  vivacity,  as  if  quite 
struck  with  his  unusual  manner.  (  "  Oh,  it  will  be  so 
pleasant  to  flirt  with  him,  at  any  rate.") 

("  She  is  a  delightful  girl.  It  must  be  my  intel 
lect  ;  but  love  never  had  a  residence  in  my  bosom, 
and  never  will.  How  can  I  return  it  ?  I  might  pro 
duce  an  intense  esteem  for  her — a  kind  of  wild  and 
infatuated  respect,  perhaps.  Somehow,  it  embarrasses 
me  now !  ") 

"  Mark !  "  whispered  the  irrepressible  spinster  again, 


24  DINAH. 

"  although  she  thought  it  would  be  damp,  she  braves 
it  all  to  come  and  see  you." 

("  I  will  protect  myself  with  this  subject  of  rainy 
weather.  It  will  not  be  dry  at  any  rate.  Or  shall 
I  reveal  that  singular  dream?  How  wild!  but, 
pshaw,  the  idea  of  having  been  deluded  from  my  couch 
by  a  vivid  imagination  and  a  tom-cat  is  rather  laugh 
able,  and — )  Laura,  let  me  embrace — " 

"  Hold,  rash  man !  "  cried  the  convulsed  aunt,  on 
the  qui  vive,  "  it  is  too  mucli !  " 

"  Eh  ? "  said  he,  feebly,  "  but  do  you  know  I  thought 
I  would  take  this  opportunity  of  getting  laughed  at  for 
once.  I  had  such  a  singular  dream  the  other  night, 
that—" 

There  was  a  young  girl,  a  dependent,  seated  near 
Charles's  mother,  engaged  in  sewing.  As  Charles 
uttered  these  words,  she  started  quickly,  and  cast  a 
rapid  glance  at  the  faces  of  the  assemblage.  "With 
almost  kaleidoscopic  rapidity,  however,  her  countenance 
immediately  assumed  its  habitual  expression. 

"  I  was — "  continued  Charles. 

"  "Will  you  wait,  please  ?  I  have  forgotten.  Let 
me  go  disrobe  myself,"  interrupted  Laura. 

"  Go  with  her,  Dinah,"  said  the  aunt. 

The  young  lady  proceeded  to  a  chamber  after  the 
manner  of  a  wet  washerwoman,  with  her  riding-habit 
held  on  high,  the  girl  following  behind  her.  It  was 
very  warm,  and  she  was  in  a  bright  glow  of  pleasure 
with  her  thoughts  and  her  health,  as  she  reached  the 
apartment.  The  hand  of  the  silent  young  attendant 
trembled,  as  she  assisted  in  arranging  the  new  comer's 
toilet,  from  nothing  more,  perhaps,  than  the  secret 
sympathy  which  exists,  in  spite  of  themselves,  between 


DINAH.  25 

young  girls  of  their  age.  A  hook  refused  to  be  unfas 
tened,  and  became  beset  in  the  lace.  The  girl  fumbled, 
and  blushing  at  her  own  vain  attempts,  looked  down. 

"  Oh,  pshaw !  stupid  creature,"  said  the  lively 
young  lady. 

"  The  pleasure  -which  your  beauty  gives  me,"  said 
the  waiting-girl,  with  sudden  energy,  "  cannot  be  effaced 
by  what  you  may  say  to  me.  The  one  is  too  pleasant 
to  forget,  while  the  other  need  not  be  remembered." 

"  Oh,  dear  !  Eh  !  what  ?  "  said  Laura,  looking  ra 
diantly  upon  the  young  inferior. 

The  young  girl  blushed  her  reply  in  a  deeper  dye. 
The  hook  had  become  disengaged.  Upon  leaving  the 
room  together,  the  young  lady,  as  if  in  a  forgetful  and 
abstract  manner,  fell  upon  her  neck  and  kissed  her  quite 
violently,  no  doubt  causing  her  the  sweetest  surprise. 

"  Where  is  your  father,  Laura  ? "  asked  Charles's 
mother,  looking  at  her  with  pleasure,  on  her  returning. 
— The  young  man's  dream  was  withheld  again. 

"  I  left  him  at  home,  filled  with  unsatisfactory  emo 
tions,  certainly.  lie  was  throwing  things  at  the  ser 
vants — would  you  believe  it? — in  consequence  of  my 
having  checkmated  him.  So,  as  my  neighbor  came  along 
I  proposed  to  gallop  off  and  see  you.  Really  I  never 
saw  any  one  so  unreasonable  as  papa  is.  Just  before 
this,  he  had  become  very  angry  with  me,  because  he 
could  not  give  an  appropriate  answer  to  a  conundrum 
which  I  proposed  to  him,  and  after  several  feeble 
efforts,  expressed  a  malignant  desire  to  wring  the  neck 
of  my  canary  bird.  Didn't  he,  Rudolph  ?  " 

This  was  the  gentleman  on  horseback,  who,  having 
recovered  his  wonted  powers  of  respiration,  had  dis 
mounted  from  his  horse  and  mounted  to  the  wide  and 
2 


26  DINAH. 

easy  flight  of  steps  leading  up  to  the  shaded  terrace, 
saluting  in  a  careless  and  almost  sullen  manner,  the  as 
semblage.  He  nodded  an  idle  recognition  of  Laura's 
remark,  and  as  he  turned  around,  he  bestowed  upon  the 
young  girl  who  had  returned  with  Laura  and  taken  her 
seat  again,  in  a  very  singular  manner,  and  as  rapid  as 
it  was  singular,  a  queer,  wild  glance — of  burning  pas 
sion  it  may  have  been.  The  girl  as  quickly  deprecated 
it  by  a  dignified,  tired  look  from  her  eyes,  and  turning 
her  head  away,  pursued  her  work.  It  happened  about 
this  time  that  the  spinster  aunt,  who  was  still  revolving 
deep  projects  connected  with  the  family  alliance  be 
tween  Charles  and  Laura,  took  the  enthusiastic  idea 
into  her  head,  in  furtherance  thereof,  of  calling  the 
attention  of  the  sullen  gentleman  to  their  manner 
towards  each  other,  on  observing  his  glances  that  way. 

"  What  ?  "  a"fcked  he,  almost  morosely,  in  reply  to 
her  question. 

"  Did  you  notice  that  look  of  love  she  gave  then  ? 
It  was  almost  terrible  in  its  expressiveness." 

"  Did  she  ?  did  she  ?  "  said  the  young  man,  quickly, 
in  a  thick  whisper ;  "  did  you  see  it  ?  heavens !  I  didn't 
know  you  were  aware  of  this." 

("  Dear  me,  I  didn't  know  that  he  was,  or  any  one 
else,  for  that  matter.  It's  very  singular.  But  no  doubt 
lie  has  conjectured  their  love  for  each  other,  it's  so  na 
tural,  yes.)  AVhy  certainly — " 

"  And  will  you,  will  you  approve  of  it,  when  I  tell 
you  that — " 

"  Approve  of  it  ?  of  course  I — " 

"  I  thank  you,  thank  you,"  said  the  other  warmly, 
shaking  her  hand. 

("  Eh  ? ") 


DINAH.  27 

"  And  has  she,"  continued  he,  glancing  at  the  sew 
ing  girl,  "  has  she  ever  said  any  thing  to  you  about 
it?" 

"  Eh  ?  certainly.  She  told  me  no  less  than  yester 
day  she  thought  so  much  love  had  never  been  bestowed 
upon  her,  that  is,  if  it  could  really  be  so." 

"  Good  heaven  !  why  she  never  would  have  me  think 
that — oh  why,  why  should  she  conceal  those  feelings 
from  me  ? " 

("  Dear  me,  but) — I  don't  see  exactly  why  she 
should  reveal  them  to  you." 

"  To  whom — to  whom,  I  ask  you,  should  she  reveal 
that  love,  if  not  to  me  ?  " 

("  He  shows  extraordinary  interest  in  this  matter, 
certainly,  but  he  is  a  little  too  ardent.)  You  are  her 
friend,  Mr.  Warriston,  1  know,  but  I  must  say  I  should 
not  approve  of  her  making  a  confidant,  upon  this  sub 
ject,  of  a  gentleman.  It  isn't  delicate." 

("  Good  God !  this  cursed  old  prude  thinks  it  isn't 
delicate  for  a  woman  to  tell  her  love  to  its  object,  be 
cause  he  belongs  to  the  other  sex.)  But  she  must — she 
must,  I  say.  •  This  very  night,  this  very  night  tell  her 
for  me  to  meet  me  at  the  park  gate.  Even  there  to 
convince  her,  if  she  wished  it,  on  the  spot  I  would 
have  a  clergyman  present  and — " 

("  This  is  more  extraordinary  than  ever !  He  seems 
not  only  to  take  it  for  granted  that  Charles  is  to  marry 
her,  but — such  frantic  interest  in  another  man's  marriage 
I  never  saw  in  my  life  before !  He  positively  indicates 
that  he  would  like  to  have  the  ceremony  performed  this 
very  evening,  and  in  the  park !)  But  why  in  the  open 
air?" 

"  Oh,  let  it  be  anywhere.     I  will  confide  in  you. 


28  DINAH. 

Would  she  but  consent,  I'd  have  it  done  now,  in  this 
rery  place  even." 

("  He  is  intoxicated.)     No  unseemly  levity,  sir !  " 

"  Ma'am ! " 

"  The  odor  of  spirits  is  in  fact  very  disagreeable  to 
me."  * 

"Well,  ma'am,  if  either  of  us  has  been  drinking 
them,  it  must  be  you,  ma'am  !  " 

"  Sir !  Be  quiet,  or  you  will  be  exposed.  See, 
Miss  Wellwood  calls  you,  and  perhaps  she  will  now 
confide  in  you  as  you  wished,  ha  !  ha  !  " 

'("Hey!  Oh,  the  devil !  This  is  enough.)  '  Ha ! 
ha !  You  have  been  superintending  brandy-peaches, 
ma'am,  haven't  you  ?  (However,  thank  Satan,  she 
didn't  understand  me  !  ")  continued  the  sullen  fellow. 

"  Rudolph,  here  is  a  letter  from  a  friend  of  Charles, 
Col.  Norcomb,"  said  Laura,  opportunely  approaching 
him.  "  He  was  decoyed  in,  the  other  evening,  he 
says,  to  witness  the  revolt  of  the  Water  Nymphs  at 
Niblo's,  and  contracted  the  rheumatism  in  consequence 
of  the  liquid  nature  of  the  piece  ;  and  he  feels  aggrieved 
at  his  stupid  medical  adviser,  who  for  some  unexplained 
reason  caused  his  head  to  be  shaved,  although  the  lame 
ness  was  confined  entirely  to  his  legs.  He  is  coming 
up  here  soon.  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  continued  she, 
with  renewed  liveliness.  "  Why  are  you  so  silent?  I 
never  saw  such  forlorimess  in  my  life.  Pluck  me  a 
wilted  rose,  seek-sorrow,  with  your  migniard  hands, 
and  then  get  you  back  into  the  cave  of  Trophonius. 
Come,  lazy-bones,  let  us  take  a  walk." 

While  the  young  lady  tripped  over  the  sward  with 
that  halo  about  her  which  should  always  encompass  a 
bright  womanly  creature  thus  in  the  aurora  of  her 


DINAH.  29 

days,  the  old  maid  was  still  sternly  gazing  at  the  young 
man  Rudolph.  The  mother's  eye  dwelt  with  love  and 
admiration  upon  the  group.  "And  yet,"  she  mur 
mured,  uneasily,  "  how  indifferent  is  my  boy's  nature. 
Will  he  ever  be  any  thing  else !  Could  the  union  of 
their  lives  now  take  place,  the  wish  and  happiness  of 
mine  would  be  completed.  Dear  Laura,  you  have  in 
herited  from  your  mother  the  love  which  she  captured 
from  me  in  our  bread-and-butter  days." 


CHAPTER    Y. 

THE   POSSIBILITIES   OF   HUMAN   NATUKE. THE   YOUNO    LAWYEK — NAT 

BONNET. 

THEKE  was  in  the  neighboring  town  of  Templeville 
an  individual,  somewhat  ill-bestowed,  both  by  nature 
and  education,  who  kept  the  chief  apothecary  and  vari 
ety  shop  thereof.  For  a  long  while  his  chances  of  suc 
cess  had  been  rather  attenuated,  and  as  his  customers 
were  of  that  class  who  prefer  to  do  the  cheating  them 
selves  when  any  operation  of  that  kind  is  proposed 
in  a  bargain,  it  had  been  a  source  of  great  wonder  and 
speculation  how  he  could  possibly  continue  in  his  busi 
ness,  until  an  ingenious  and  peripatetic  philosopher  of 
the  town  suggested  that  he  stole  his  goods.  In  deep 
admiration,  the  entire  community  became  his  customers, 
and  the  other  man  who  didn't  steal  his  goods  was  forced 
to  close  his  establishment.  In  consequence  of  this,  he 
had  got  so  far  as  to  be  spoken  of  among  certain  of  the 
chapel-goers  as  their  candidate  for  selectman,  and  was 


30  DINAH. 

troubled  generally  with  a  sense  of  the  grandeur  of  his 
growing  position,  and  particularly  with  an  irrepressible 
desire  to  excruciate  himself  and  those  who  listened  to 
him,  by  speaking  in  public  assemblies,  it  being  literally 
an  unspeakable  torture  for  him. 

One  afternoon,  two  or  three  days  after  Charles  ar 
rived  in  the  family  place,  this  individual  was  receiving 
the  admiration  of  one  or  two  others  hanging  around 
him  at  this  moment  in  the  hopes  of  getting  a  drink  of 
rum  in  the  back-store,  when  a  young  lawyer  of  the 
town  came  in  to  make  an  unimportant  purchase. 

"  Sir,"  said  the  shopman,  "  you  observed — " 

"  I  asked  you — Have  you  got  any  matches  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  we  have  lately  purchased  some  illuminers 
of  extraordinary  and  marvellous  attraction.  They  are 
ingeniously  arranged  in  quadrangular  receptacles  (con 
sentaneous  nods  of  approval  among  the  admirers),  and 
are  of  extraordinary  and  marvellous  attraction,  on  the 
corruscating  friction  being  applied.  You  will  observe 
that  they  lie  horizontally  with  variegated  tips,  by  a 
delicate  arrangement,  in  the  quadrangular  receptacles, 
on  the  exterior  of  which  they — they  have — the  thing 
what  you  put  'em  in." 

"  What  ?  " 

"  In  quadrangular  receptacles — " 

"  Have  you  got  any  matches  ?  " 

"  Yes.     Here  are  some  lucifers — " 

"  Well,  why  didn't  you  say  so  ?  " 

"  Sir,  I  have  the  label  for  authority.  As  religion  is 
my  safeguard,  I  forgive  him,"  continued  he,  calmly,  and 
in  a  low  tone  to  his  friends,  "  and  I  pity  his  igno 
rance." 

"  An  illuminator  of  extraordinary  and  marvellous 


DINAH.  31 

attraction.  They  had  better  put  you  at  once  in  a  quad 
rangular  receptacle  too,"  said  the  young  lawyer.  At 
this  remark  one  of  the  crowd  of  admirers  was  forced  to 
laugh,  being  a  man  of  humor,  though  seedy.  The  In 
dividual  gazed  with  such  compressed  exasperation  and 
sternness  upon  this  offender  that  he  was  compelled  to 
get  behind  another  man  and  stay  there  until  the  wrath 
of  his  patron  had  melted  away  in  the  oblivion  of  its 
cause. 

"  "Will  you  speak  to-night  at  the  chapel  ? "  said 
another  of  the  admirers  to  the  proprietor  of  the  shop, 
feeling  uneasy,  and  wishing  to  change  the  subject. 
"  Sech  bilins  of  the  blood  I  had  when  you  addressed  'em 
the  other  night.  When  you  were  relatin'  your  expe 
rience,  and  told  'em  how  many  times  some  of  them  en 
vious  rich  old  families  had  lied  about  you  and  abused 
yon,  and  what  scoundrels  they  were  otherways  towards 
any  one  who  wasn't  rose  quite  so  well  as  them.  I  felt 
as  though  I  would  come  up  and  borrow  twenty-five 
cents  more  of  you,  jest  to  get  an  opportunity  to  tell  you 
how  I  liked  it.  Obadiah  Baylon  speaks  sing'ler,  but 
if  any  comparison  is  to  be  made  between  him  and  you, 
I  thinks  he  speaks  worse  than  you  do.  His  head  is 
sing'ler.  I  want  him  to  convert  the  Irish,  they  are  an 
ign'rant  set.  Do  you  know  Irish  Sal  told  me  I  was  a 
nasty  beast,  and  sing'ler  to  say,  she  took  that  occasion 
to  say  you  was  another." 

"  If  you  hadn't  been  a  dirty  coward,  you'd  have 
offered  to  fight  her  for  it.  It  may  have  been  true  in 
your  case,  but  you  knew  she  was.  lyin'  about  me.  This 
comes  of  havin'  such  fellers  as  you  about !  "  said  he, 
in  the  simplicity  of  his  grief.  (The  crowd  shrunk  back. 
There  was  a  pause.  No  rum  under  this  bad  humor, 


32  DINAH. 

which  promised  to  grow.)  "  Howsever  I  forgive  you 
now.  I.  know  you  owe  me  forty-five  dollars,  and  I  can 
make  you  pay  'em,  but  I  don't  want  to  have  any  diffi 
culties  with  any  one.  It  ain't  Christian,  and  I  must  feel 
humble  and  religers.  Ha  !  who's  this,"  continued  he, 
as  an  elderly  man  with  a  shuffling  gait  and  in  thread-bare 
apparel  entered  the  shop.  "  It's  that  old  State's-Prison 
bird  who  has  pretended  to  be  so  humble  and  penitent 
since  he  got  out.  I  like  to  keep  these  fellers  under. 
It  does  me  good,  it  makes  me  feel  well,"  murmured  he, 
either  acknowledging  that  affable  weakness  of  human 
nature  which  loves  to  triumph  over  a  fallen  being,  or 
disposed  to  avenge  himself  for  the  affront  of  Irish  Sal 
in  this  circuitous  manner.  "  Besides  that,  the  old 
woman  at  Punkin  Place  who  has  taken  him  in,  will 
send  him  away  soon  enough,  and  it's  good  in  the  end 
for  the  shop  !  " 

The  expression  upon  the  countenance  of  the  new 
comer  was  a  curious  mixture  of  the  nobility  which  sor 
row  always  gives,  and  the  confusion  of  self-abasement. 
Noticing  the  conversation  between  the  shopkeeper  and 
the  others,  he  had  attempted  with  an  humble,  hesitating 
gesture,  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  former  to  him. 

"  I  wish  to  get  some  lavender,"  said  he,  irresolutely. 

"  Have  you  got  the  money  ?  " 

A  faint  blush  came  over  the  old  man's  face,  and 
there  was  a  slight  movement  of  his  temples.  He  re 
plied,  "  Yes,"  with  a  confused  laugh,  and  an  affectation 
at  clearing  his  throat  by  coughing. 

"  You  see,"  continued  he,  suddenly,  bowing  to  the 
young  lawyer,  who  had  lingered  on  the  threshold  near 
him  looking  idly  up  the  street,  "  I  thought  I'd  buy 
some.  I  want  to  surprise  my  daughter  My  daughter, 


DINAH.  33 

sir,  (straightening  himself  up  pompously  at  the  men 
tion  of  her  name,)  is  very  fond  of  its  odor."  The  young 
lawyer  thought  it  was  no  doubt  owing  to  the  fact  that 
man  was  originally  constituted  as  a  social  being,  and 
desirous  of  communicating  knowledge,  that  the  old  man 
imparted  to  him  this  immensely  useful  piece  of  infor 
mation,  as  he  did  not  see  any  other  reason  just  then  for 
it.  The  stranger  now  attempted,  in  a  confused  manner, 
and  by  way  of  propitiation,  a  little  friendly  familiarity 
with  the  shopkeeper  as  he  obtained  from  his  hand  a 
small  vinaigrette  of  the  delightful  perfume.  He  soon 
bade  him  adieu,  however,  and  passing  by  the  young 
man,  bowed  to  him  with  that  airy  politeness  which  be 
longs  to  poverty  alone. 

"  Here,  stop  !  where  are  you  going  ?  "  cried  the 
shopkeeper,  with  an  ugly  grin  at  his  friends  and  a 
scowl  at  the  old  man.  "  What  do  you  bring  counter 
feit  money  here  for  ?  I've  heard  of  you.  Here  !  bring 
back  that  lavender,  and  go  about  your  business.  I 
don't  do  that  kind  of  business.  Get  out." 

The  other  stopped  timidly  on  the  threshold  of  the 
door.  The  blood  had  flushed  to  the  top  of  his  fore 
head.  His  lip  quivered  for  a  moment,  and  attempting 
to  smile,  he  stammered  out  some  humble  excuse,  when 
the  proprietor  continued  further,  "  Here,  take  your 
money,  and  leave.  You  needn't  come  here  again !  " 
The  piece  (which  was  black  enough,  to  be  sure,  and 
seemed  as  if  it  had  lain  for  a  long  while  in  some 
drawer)  fell  on  the  floor  as  he  threw  it,  with  a  ring,  and 
the  old  man  was  about  to  call  attention  to  this  indica 
tion  of  its  genuineness,  when  he  concluded  to  pick  it 
up  and  to  be  the  first  to  offer  peace.  Here  the  young 
lawyer,  in  a  low  voice,  which  might  have  been  a  sepul- 


34  DINAH. 

cliral  imitation  of  some  bandit  chief  with  a  voice  as 
base  as  his  calling,  said  to  the  shopkeeper,  "  Take  the 
money  and  give  him  the  lavender  !  " 

The  latter  looked  at  the  young  lawyer  in  a  some 
what  surprised  and  crest-fallen  manner,  saying,  "  I  was 
going  to  all  the  while.  I  jest  wanted  to — "  (His  ad 
mirers  were  backing  towards  the  door,  there  being 
symptoms  of  trouble).  Don't  you  see  !  "  continued  he, 
in  a  propitiatory  confidence,  "  I  jest  wanted  to" — " 

"  And  you,  sir,"  continued  the  lawyer,  in  a  lofty 
manner,  turning  to  the  old  man,  "  would  do  well  to 
take  this  individual's  advice,  and  keep  away  from  here 
entirely."  The  old  man  hesitated  as  to  whether  he 
should  take  the  lavender  or  the  advice,  but  he  shortly 
took  them  both  and  walked  off.  And  now  the  young- 
lawyer  appeared  to  be  laboring  under  a  fearful  increase 
of  internal  emotion. 

"  Boo  !  "  yelled  he,  suddenly,  in  startling  propin 
quity  to  the  countenance  of  the  disturber  of  his  feelings. 
The  crowd  of  admirers  in  a  body  fled,  panic-stricken, 
from  the  shop,  post-haste  after  the  constable. 

"  Oh  dear  !  Really  this  is  sing'ler,"  said  the  shop 
keeper  sorely  alarmed,  as  the  young  lawyer  began 
fumbling  about  his  head. 

"  I  think  I  will  chastise  you,"  said  the  latter,  seek 
ing  once  more  a  dignified  and  impartial  air,  and  hold 
ing  the  offender  by  the  ear  at  arm's  length,  in  his  ab 
straction. 

"  Allow  me  to  explain,  I  beg,"  interposed  the 
affable  shopkeeper,  in  a  slight  delirium.  "  Oh !  you 
hurt !  " 

"  The  eternal  fitness  of  things,"  said  the  young 
lawyer,  musing,  "  as  more  particularly  applied  to  the 


DINAH.  35 

quiet  grandeur  of  the  social  fabric,  has  been  in  a  meas 
ure  disturbed.  I  must  put  him  to  bodily  torture." 

"  Oh,  dear  !  let  me  go." 

"  The  glorious  avenger  of  justice,  Nemesis,  the 
great  Bhamnusia  demands  that  anguish  should  be  in 
flicted  upon  his  person,"  continued  the  advocate,  in 
rapt  abstraction. 

"  Oh,  dear  !  this  is  more  alarming  than  ever ;  oh  ! 
He  referred  to  rams.  It's  somethin'  else.  I'm.  not  the 
party — not  the  party." 

"I  won't  chastise  you  now.  I'll  thrash  you  to 
morrow,"  said  the  young  lawyer  finally ;  "  that  is,  if  I 
haven't  any  engagements,"  concluded  he,  as  he  released 
the  auricular  organ  of  the  confounded  shopkeeper. 

The  mean  man  rushed  in  a  frenetic  manner  to  a 
basin,  and  clapped  a  wet  towel  upon  the  side  of  his 
head,  while  the  advocate,  with  an  unruffled  demeanor, 
proceeded  from  the  shop. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    OLD   MAN   AND   HIS   DAUGHTER. 

* 

THE  aged  individual  who  caused  the  difficulties  into 
which  the  unhappy  shopman  was  plunged,  was  a  char 
acter  who  had  come  to  the  village  three  or  four  years 
before.  Having  expended  his  previous  existence  in 
deliriously  working  out  an  enigmatic  problem — that  of 
his  worldly  destination,  in  his  old  age  he  had  jumped 
furiously  at  a  conclusion,  and  found,  after  all,  that  he 
was  destined  for  the  State's-prison.  He  was  tried  and 


36  DINAH. 

sentenced  for  the  crime  of  forgery  in  New  York,  adding 
one  more  name  to  the  degraded,  sorrowful  list  of  crimi 
nals  in  the  great  metropolis.  After  some  time,  spent 
in  the  prison,  he  became  quite  stupid  and  foolish.  It 
was  remembered,  also,  that  even  before  his  shiftless 
crime  was  discovered,  he  had  secretly  endeavored,  from 
fright  or  penitence,  to  restore  some  of  the  money  gotten 
by  it,  and  in  consideration  of  these  facts,  and  of  his 
age,  the  governor  accorded  him  his  mercy. 

He  went  about  again  in  a  dull  manner,  and  in  his  en 
deavors  to  obtain  employment  or  a  haven  from  suffer 
ing,  finally  came  to  this  neighborhood.  But  here  also 
honest  people  shunned  him,  and  it  must  be  confessed 
that  the  noble  alacrity  in  this  respect,  of  the  citizens  of 
the  district,  would  have  done  honor  to  people  in  time 
of  a  plague.  Had  they  been  obliged  to  have  had  rela 
tions  with  him,  for  instance,  it  would  not  have  been 
except  through  the  medium  of  a  pair  of  tongs.  Al 
though  the  negroes,  with  whom  he  and  his  young 
daughter  lodged  in  an  old  house  away  from  the  village, 
were  always  kind  to  them,  to  be  sure,  they  were  poor 
enough  themselves,  and  the  unfortunate  old  man  and 
his  daughter  may  have  even  gone  supperless  to  bed  at 
times.  Finally,  through  the  representations  of  the  young 
girl,  who  appeared  to  be  quite  energetic,  Charles's  aunt 
was  induced  to  take  them  upon  sufferance  for  a  day  or 
two,  to  labor  at  the  Place,  and  afterwards  held  them 
more  permanently,  but  still  with  the  precarious  feeling 
of  unreliability.  About  the  time  that  Charles  and  his 
mother  arrived,  however,  the  old  man  had  become  in 
stalled  as  light-artillery  man  to  the  cook  and  self-con 
stituted  gardener,  and  the  young  girl  had  actually 
worked  herself  up  to  the  position  of  alleviator  of  the 


DINAH.  37 

arduous  occupation  of  the  aunt  herself — her  chief  duties 
consisting  in  listening  to  the  conversation  of  that  lady, 
and  showing  her  appreciation  of  its  circumlocutory 
style — an  occupation,  by  the  way,  which  promised  to 
turn  her  head  gray  in  a  very  short  time.  In  conse 
quence  of  this  glad  change  in  his  affairs,  the  old  man 
was  rendered  quite  nighty,  indulging  in  earnest  speeches, 
to  people  who  were  quite  uninterested,  about  the  fine 
character  of  his  daughter,  and  how  they  were  going 
now  to  pay  up  all  debts,  and  his  affairs  were  going  to 
be  arranged,  &c. ;  but  alternating  this  state  of  mind, 
however,  with  fits  of  melancholy  abstraction. 

In  his  labors,  it  must  be  confessed,  he  did  more 
damage  than  good,  perhaps,  but  it  was  observable  that  his 
daughter  generally  was  successful  in  correcting  his  mis 
takes.  They  were  commencing,  then,  to  live  an  easy 
life  upon  the  premises,  (perhaps  for  the  first  time  in  their 
lives,)  though  they  were  still  looked  upon  with  suspicion 
and  coldness.  His  history  had  earned  for  them  the 
reputation  of  untrustworthiness,  and  it  seemed  also  that 
the  girl,  young  as  she  was,  was  already  beginning  to 
discover  in  her  manners  and  expression  certain  peculiar 
traits  of  mingled  hypocrisy  and  boldness.  Apparently 
talented  by  nature,  she  seemed  disposed  to  hide  her 
powers  in  a  cunning  way  beneath  an  appearance  of 
modesty ;  although,  at  times,  the  very  energy  of  her 
character  made  her  appear  forward  in  spite  of  herself. 

The  old  man  was  engaged,  one  bright  morning,  in 
arranging  a  bush  in  the  grounds,  accompanied  by  his 
daughter. 

"  It  is  a  curious  fatality,"  said  Charles  to  his  mother, 
happening  to  observe  them  at  the  moment  from  the 
parlor,  "  that  such  people  as  these  are  continually  get- 


DINAH. 

ting  into  our  confidence.  Do  you  remember  the  Italian 
refugee  who  taught  me  a  new  and  inextinguishable  ac 
centuation  of  the  French,  and  then  ran  away  with  my 
wardrobe,  leaving  a  note  explaining  that  he  was  going 
to  drown  himself,  and  wished  to  have  his  corpse  appear 
respectable  ?  It  is  a  wonder  that  aunt  was  induced  to 
foster  these  people  ;  however,  as  she  is  treasurer  of  the 
Dorcas  Society,  this  may  be  considered  a  special  de 
posit,  I  suppose." 

The  mother  looked  up  quietly,  and  her  eye  rested 
upon  the  young  girl,  who  was  pausing  at  the  moment 
from  her  labors  around  a  little  tree.  The  sunshine 
struck  through  the  foliage,  and  fell  upon  her  face  and 
hair,  and  a  peculiar  smile  rested  on  her  face,  in  which 
the  observer  thought  she  saw,  young  as  the  girl  was, 
indications  of  a  natural  mixture  of  boldness  and  dis 
simulation. 

"  He  has  a  quiet  way,"  continued  Charles,  who  was 
idly  regarding  the  old  man  ;  "  I  think  he  might  have 
made  a  good  gentleman,  but  he  is  a  very  poor  gardener. 
By  Jove !  he  is  actually  pulling  up  that  orange  tree 
from  its  tub."  He  went  out  and  accosted  the  destruc 
tive  party.  "  Have  a  care,  don't  you  see  ?  "  said  he, 
sharply. 

"  I  didn't  intend — I — was  thinking  about  something 
.  else,"  said  the  old  man,  humbly.  A  painful  dream  of 
the  past  seemed  slowly  fading  away  from  his  face. 
"  Jane  will  do  it,  she  knows.  My  daughter  can  do  it 
better.  She  won't  forget.  But  you  are  not  going  to 
turn  us  off,  are  you  ?  "  continued  he,  with  a  scared  air, 
"  it  shall  not  happen  again." 

The  young  girl  looked  at  Charles.  She  was  still 
resting  quietly  upon  the  hoe,  with  the  sunlight  in 


DINAH.  39 

her  hair.  The  look  this  time  indicated  submission  and 
curiosity;.  * 

"  There  is  no  harm  done,"  said  she,  firmly,  and  with 
a  smile  of  confidence. 

"  Why  don't  you  get  James  to  help  you,  my  girl  ? " 
said  he  to  her.  (James  was  a  lazy,  good-for-nothing 
youth  permanently  attached  to  the  mansion,  who  hap 
pened  to  be,  at  the  time,  lying  in  shady  tranquillity  upon 
the  barn-floor,  engaged  in  reading,  with  absorbed  atten 
tion,  that  classical  worjc,  "  The  Pirate's  own  Book.") 

"  Oh,  we  can  do  it.  Father  likes  to  have  me  with 
him,  when  I  have  nothing  to  do  in  the  house." 

"  What  did  he  call  you  Jane  for,  my  girl  ?  I  thought 
your  name  was  Dinah."  The  old  man  had  com 
menced  to  delve,  in  a  great  fluster,  around  another  bush 
a  few  feet  off. 

"  It  isn't  Dinah,  it  is  Diana  !  "  said  the  young  girl, 
familiarly.  "  You  know  the  goddess  was  called  Jane 
too,  after  Janus,  the  two-faced  god.  So  father  used  to 
call  me  Jane  when  I  was  small,  because,  he  said,  when 
ever  he  looked  into  my  face,  he  saw  two  faces,  one 
looking  towards  the  past,  and  one  towards  the  future ; 
which  made  him  review  the  one  and  hope  for  the 
other." 

"  What — oh  yes.  So  you  are  a  two-faced  girl,  are 
you,  Jane  ?  Well,  it  is  well  to  know  one's  own  nature," 
continued  he,  carelessly. 

She  blushed  and  laughed  shortly  as  she  noticed  his 
idea,  but  there  was  a  quick,  proud  motion  of  her  head. 
"  And  do  you  remember,  sir,  what  the  Romans  did 
when  they  celebrated  the  feast  of  my  godmother  ? " 
continued  she,  with  earnest  rapidity,  and  almost  in  con 
fusion. 


40  DINAH. 

The  store  of  customs  at  Roman,  feasts  in  Charles's 
memory  was  very  nearly  limited  to  the  agreeable  one 
they  had  of  lying  down  to  feed  at  them. 

"  "Well,  certainly,  that  is — yes." 

"  Don't  you  know,  they  suspended  their  prejudice 
and  ill-will  towards  every  one  when  they  mentioned  her 
name  ?  I  claim  the  right  of  an  heiress,"  said  she,  laugh 
ing  bitterly,  and  blushing  together. 

Charles  felt  a  new  emotion.  He  had  an  indefinite 
impression  that  she  was  defencling  herself  and  rebuk 
ing  his  slighting  idea  in  quite  a  delicate  manner.  He 
was  about  to  reply,  when  he  suddenly  discovered  that 
he  had  no  remark  to  make  which  was  likely  to  be 
satisfactory  to  himself,  and  on  further  reflection  he  con 
cluded  he  would  betake  himself  to  the  house  again. 
About  an  hour  after  this  it  rained  in  a  very  disagree 
able  manner,  and  the  aunt  being  in  the  parlor,  called 
to  the  girl  to  come  to  her  for  a  moment.  Charles, 
lying  there  upon  a  sofa,  was  refreshing  himself  by 
revelling  in  rancorous  feelings,  and  silent  indulgement 
of  opprobrious  criticism,  against  a  poor,  inoffensive 
author,  merely  because  he  happened  to  be  popular. 

CHARLES'S  AUNT.  "  Dinah,  you  know  the  table  this 
way  (gesture)  in  my  chamber  at  the  left-hand  side  of 
the  door  as  you  come  out,  about  half-way  across,  stand 
ing  up  against  that  side  (gesture)  of  the  room  in  the 
middle  space  between  the  two  windows  next  to  the  one 
nearest  this  side  ?  " 

CHAELES.     "  Make  a  chart !  make  a  chart !  " 

AUNT,  severely  (on  noting  the  young  girl's  smile.) 
"  Run,  girl,  and  fetch  me  my  thimble.  She  doesn't 
know  any  thing.  She  does  very  well,  that  is  to  say, 
considering  the  unfortunate  life  which  she  has  been 


DIN  All.  41 

leading  ;  besides,  you  know  one  cannot  expect  any  one 
to  know  one's  inmost  wishes  at  any  moment ;  and, 
moreover,  her  character,  of  course,  is  not  yet  formed. 
However,  those  elements  which  have  appeared  to  me 
thus  far,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  are  mostly  faults." 

Charles  looked  towards  the  girl,  who  was  returning. 
As  she  walked  along,  her  head  appeared  upturned  to 
wards  the  portrait  of  the  old  pioneer,  which  still  hung 
upon  the  walls  of  Pompney  Place,  and  yet  her  gaze 
was  bent  beneath  and  towards  the  aunt.  The  attitude, 
for  the  moment,  seemed  to  him  so  like  that  of  a  strug 
gling  fascination,  that  he  almost  started  up,  and  yet  he 
laughed  immediately  at  the  ridiculousness  of  the  idea. 
She  soon  retired,  and  the  aunt,  noticing  Charles's  con 
tinued  gaze  at  the  portrait,  commenced  the  relation  of 
a  great  many  pleasing  anecdotes  concerning  the  de 
scendant,  Mr.  Pompney,  and  his  eccentricities  ;  as  how 
he  used  to  experience  a  malignant  joy  and  secret  tri 
umph  in  breaking  his  own  windows,  to  induce  people 
to  believe  that  the  ghosts  of  his  ancestors  did  it ;  and 
how  he  used,  at  times,  to  take  into  his  head  other 
merry  freaks,  such  as  pretending  to  be  taken  very  crazy 
and  imbecile,  and  insisting  upon  being  led  around  by 
his  wife,  whom,  now  and  then  regarding  in  an  un 
steady  manner,  he  would  accost  with,  "  Hallo  !  I  know 
you  ?  I've  seen  you  before  !  " — his  wife,  whom  he  had 
known,  married  and  single,  for  forty  years. 


42  DINAH. 

CHAPTEE  VII. 

THE   ESPECIAL   CONFIDANT   OF   LAUBA's   FATHER. 

IT  was  a  fair  blonde  morning,  and  it  seemed  as 
though  the  soul  of  nattire  were  visible,  when  in  a 
pleasant  office  in  the  town  Mr.  Bonney  sat  before  a 
table  with  his  legs  and  the  papers  of  his  profession 
thereon,  engaged  in  thought.  This  young  gentleman 
knew  as  much  law  as  was  safe  for  him  as  a  gentleman, 
and  practised  as  much  as  was  safe  for  his  neighbors. 
He  had  arrived  at  that  peculiar  age  of  man  when  the 
occupation  of  love  is  his  business,  and  the  practice  of 
his  profession  his  relaxation,  and  was  just  then  think 
ing  of  a  young  lady  lately  arrived  in  the  neighborhood, 
who,  he  was  under  the  impression,  rather  preferred  him 
to  her  bonnet,  although  his  acquaintance  with  her  was 
as  yet  somewhat  limited.  The  particular  gnomes  con 
secrated  by  sleep  to  keep  his  spirits  in  repair  had  also 
fulfilled  so  well  their  work  of  the  last  night,  and  his 
physical  feelings  were  so  buoyant,  that  he  was  disposed 
to  cherish  the  notion  on  the  whole,  that  the  grand 
scheme  of  things  had  not  received  any  detriment  when 
he  was  taken  into  it.  An  ancient  buggy  attached  to 
an  eccentric  team,  consisting  of  one  tall  horse  and  a 
short  one,  came  up  to  the  door  in  a  manner  evidently 
intended  by  the  quadrupeds  as  a  sarcasm  on  the  idea 
of  locomotion. 

"  Good  heavens !  her  parent !  "  exclaimed  the  youth 
ful  advocate  in  a  suppressed  manner,  as  the  occupant 
came  in. 

"  How  are  you,  Nathaniel  ?  "  said  the  other,  salut- 


DINAH.  43 

ing  him.  "  Broken  your  fast  early,  eh  ?  I  knew  a 
man  once,  who  was  taking  his  breakfast  one  morning, 
and  not  knowing  the  exact  time  of  the  day,  he — his 
name,  by  the  way,  was  Timble — his  mother  was  a 
Kooter ;  old  Rooter,  his  grandfather,  built  a  fine  resi 
dence  at  Yonkers,  which  was  unfortunately  burned  the 
day  after  it  was  finished — I  knew  him  well — he  re 
warded  a  fireman  for  his  gallantry  in  throwing  his  wife 
out  of  the  window  and  thus — let  me  see — he  was  tak 
ing  his — no — it  was  not  he — it  was — " 

"  Look  here  !  I  say  now — excuse  me  a  moment — 
just  keep  on  in  your  narrative.  I'll  be  back  in  half  an 
hour  or  so,"  said  the  young  lawyer,  rising  abruptly. 

"Wait!  "Where  are  you  going?  I've  got  a  little 
business  I  want  to  intrust  to  you,"  said  the  old  gentle 
man,  with  a  short  stare,  and  suddenly  reverting  to  the 
object  of  his  visit.  "  A  little  negotiation  which  I  have 
resolved  upon  making,  and  I  am  led  to  this  step  (mys 
teriously)  by  some  matters  which  are  (chuckling)  of  a 
highly  delicate  nature,  but  as  I  know  of  no  person  in 
whom  I  can  confide  more  implicitly  than  in  you,  Nat, 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  doing  so.  I  want  to  purchase 
the  Gosling  farms,  and  I  want  to  purchase  them  for 
(coming  nearer  and  whispering  with  great  importance 
in  Nat's  ear)  for  my  daughter,  eh  !  By  the  way,  you 
must  come  over  and  see  her.  However,  she  is  now  so 
devoted  to  one,  she  is  positively  rude  to  all  others  in 
her  indifference,  Nathaniel.  Yes,  to  her  future  hus 
band,  Nat !  Our  old  friends  have  arrived  at  Pompney 
Place,  you  know,  and  this  is  a  wedding  present.  The 
young  man  came  especially  to  propose,  and  by  heaven, 
he  has  done  it !  " 

The  young  lawyer  started  at  the  communication  of 


DINAH. 

this  intelligence,  and  was  about  uttering  an  exclamation 
of  overpowering  lamentation  thereat,  when  he  suddenly 
checked  himself,  and  converted  it  into  one  of  salutation. 

"  Good — morning,  how  are  you  ?  " 

"I  am  well.  What  is  the  matter?  Tou  are  not 
unwell,  are  you  ?  " 

"  ETot  at  all,"  replied  the  unhappy  lawyer,  imme 
diately,  laughing  at  the  exquisite  joke  of  being  thought 
unwell. 

"  Well  then,  I  want  you  to  negotiate  this  purchase 
for  me.  You  know,  if  old  Mudgeon  knows  I  want  it, 
he  hates  me  so,  he'll  double  the  price  immediately  with 
the  intention  of  doing  the  same  thing  again  after  I 
write  to  him  on  the  subject.  I'll  tell  you  a  story 
about  him  presently  (the  wretched  lawyer  looked  ner 
vously  towards  the  door  to  see  if  it  was  open) — but 
I've  come  over  to  concoct  a  plan  with  you,  to  delude 
him  into  selling  it  at  not  over  twice  what  it  is  worth, 
at  any  rate.  We've  got  time,  and  we  can  succeed  in 
this,  Nathaniel.  What  a  beautiful  homestead  it  will 
make.  What  a  happy  couple  they  will  be.  Charles 
dotes  upon  her,  and  she  loves  him  to  distraction." 

"  She  doesn't,"  roared  the  young  lawyer,  in  sudden 
excitement.  "  I  deny  it  and  call  for  proofs." 

"  What !  What  the  devil  do  you  want  proofs  for  ? 
Don't  I  tell  you  she  does,  in  the  most  devoted  man 
ner  ?"  said  the  old  gentleman,  pettishly. 

"  Eh  ?  Well,  perhaps  it  is  unnecessary,"  said  the 
young  lawyer,  slowly ;  "  but  you  see  it  was  my  legal 
mind,  you  know." 

"  Well — well  then — now  for  old  Mudgeon.  Tou 
must  commence  by  writing  a  letter  to  him.  I  have 
been  thinking  of  some  points.  Sit  down  and  write, 


DINAH.  45 

and  I  will  dictate  tliem.     Oh,  we'll  catch  him.     It's  in 
genious." 

"  Oh,  dear,  I've  lost  her  before  I've  got  her.  I  am 
a  kind  of  premature  widower,"  murmured  the  advo 
cate,  twining  his  fingers  in  his  hair  distractedly.  "  But 
no !  not  even  Louis  Napoleon  or  James  Buchanan 
could  win  her  from  me,  that  is,  if  I  had  a  little  start. 
Devil  take  JVIudgeon ! " 

The  complacent  old  gentleman  was  walking  up 
and  down,  and  gazing  at  a  fly  to  compose  his  thoughts. 
"  John  Mudgeon,  dear  sir,"  commenced  he,  "  I  hope 
your  family  is  well,  and  you  still  continue  in  the  same 
God's  blessing  as  heretofore,  with  the  exception,  of 
course,  of  the  lumbago,  which  we  all  know  you  can 
never  recover  from."  (He's  had  it  so  long,  he  takes 
great  pride  in  it,  and  gets  his  back  up  on  it.)  "  A 
moneyed  man  from  New  York  has  just  arrived  in  haste," 
continued  he,  in  the  execution  of  his  wily  project,  to 
the  young  advocate,  who  was  taking  down  his  words  in 
the  most  distracted  manner,  and  evidently  entirely  en 
grossed  with  his  own  thoughts — "  noting  the  extra 
ordinary  tendency  of  your  lands  on  the  Gosling  farms 
to  produce  mustard — " 

"  "  I  shall  have  a  brain  fever,  if  it  is  so,"  murmured 
the  other,  desperately. 

"  To  produce  mustard  principally,  (that  is  an  idea 
which  is  not  to  be  sneezed  at,  Nat,)  desires  through  me 
to  make  proposals — " 

("  The  thought  of  her  marrying  him  in  this  sudden 
way!") 

"  To  go  into  the  business  of  manufacturing  mustard 
thereon,  say  for  table  use,  poultices,  &c. — Please  re 
ply,  &c." 


46  DINAH. 

("  It  will  drive  me  to  intoxication,  I've  no  doubt  of 
it!") 

"  That  letter  will,  I  think,  give  him  the  necessary 
roundabout  emotion  to  commence  with.  Sere,  let  me 
see  how  it  reads,"  continued  the  old  gentleman.  "  Why, 
what  is  all  this  !  "What  the  devil — what  do  you  mean 
by  this  ?  '  Dear  sir,  a  gentleman  of  the  village,  noticing 
the  extraordinary  tendency  of  your  farm  to  produce 
brain-fevers,  desires,  through,  me,  to  make  proposals  to 
marry  you  and  go  into  the  manufacture  of  mustard 
poultices  on  the  spot.  Please  reply,  or  I  shall  "be 
driven  to  intoxication  !  '  Driven  to  intoxication  !  He 
is  inebriated  already  !  Alas  !  that  one  so  young  should 
be  drunk  so  early  in  the  morning  as  this.  What's  the 
meaning — Perhaps  it  is — They  don't  buy  that  coffee  of 
Wagstaff  's,  do  they,  at  your  house  ?  " 

"  Eh  ?  "  said  the  wobegone  young  lawyer,  looking 
at  the  letter  weakly.  "  You  see,  my  thoughts  have 
been  scattered — sitting  up  with  a  sick  friend — delirium, 
and  all  that — I  tired  myself  out  handing  him  toast  to 
eat  all  night,  and  lying  down  on  him  during  the  inter 
vals,  to  keep  him  in  bed." 

"  Ha !  ha !  very  good ;  by  the  way,  that  reminds 
me — I  knew  an  elderly  man  once,  who — " 

"  Hallo  !  I  say,"  said  the  lawyer,  rousing  himself 
suddenly.  "  None  of  that,  you  know.  Hadn't  I  bet 
ter  write  this  letter  over  again  at  once  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  of  course,  you  attend  to  it — but  do  you 
know,  I  knew  an  elderly  man  once,  who — " 

"  I  say,"  continued  Nat,  in  a  lively  manner,  "  give 
me  the  points  again." 

"  This  elderly  man  was  in  just  such  a  predicament, 
he—" 


D  1 3ST  A  U .  47 

"  Of  course  I  know  what  to  write  to  him.  I  can  do 
it  during  the  day.  Good  gracious  !  it  is  time  to  go  up 
to  extort.  I've  got  that  case — like  Richard,  scarce  half 
made  up  and — " 

"  Certainly.  You  can  ride  up  in  my  buggy,  ISTat. 
— "Well,  sir,  that  elderly  man,"  the  old  gentleman  was 
ahout  to  commence  as  they  took  their  seats,  when  the 
eccentric  conduct  of  the  quadrupeds  attached  to  the 
vehicle  fermented,  to  so  high  a  degree,  his  spiritual 
nature,  as  to  render  the  immediate  continuance  of 
the  narrative  quite  impossible.  Having  evidently  come 
to  a  previous  understanding,  they  began  to  amuse 
themselves  at  once  by  backing  with  great  rapidity 
down  the  street,  and  after  retrograding  for  some 
distance,  varying  their  diversion  with  little  violent  runs 
forward,  and  sudden  facetious  stops  at  unexpected 
places,  together  with  other  brilliant  manoeuvres  of  a 
like  equine  nature,  which,  although  they  were  such  as 
were  calculated  to  make  a  horse  laugh,  so  to  say,  were, 
on  the  whole,  improper  at  the  time.  Finally,  they 
rushed  off  at  the  top  of  their  speed  towards  their  place 
of  destination,  and  with  such  a  wide  difference  of  opin 
ion  with  regard  to  the  proper  manner  of  trotting,  that 
it  certainly  was  quite  remarkable,  taking  into  consider 
ation  their  recent  unanimity. 

Order,  however,  having  been  comparatively  re 
stored,  the  old  gentleman  recommenced  the  recital  of  his 
narrative  with  such  energy  and  incontinence,  that  Nat 
rashly  contemplated  either  throwing  himself  on  his  mercy 
or  out  of  the  wagon.  Whenever  he  got  into  difficulties 
with  regard  to  facts  while  torturing  ISTat  with  the.  el 
derly  gentleman,  he  was  accustomed,  in  the  episodical 
manner  of  the  man  with  the  kettle-drums,  to  refer  to 


48  DINAH. 

the  other  and  more  soul-harrowing  subject — his  daugh 
ter's  proposed  union  with  the  heir  of  Pompney  Place. 
Suddenly,  however,  he  raised  the  young  advo^tte's 
spirits  from  the  depths  of  despair  to  the  heights  of 
hope.  He  revealed  to  him  that  it  was  not  quite  fixed 
that  the  hated  rival  had  already  proposed,  but  it  was 
only  that  he  thought  so  !  So  vivacious  were  the  young 
man's  spirits  rendered  in  consequence  of  this,  that  the 
hasty  manner  in  which  he  made  the  usual  courteous  in 
quiry  for  the  health  of  the  judge  who  presided  over 
the  seat  of  justice,  scared  that  learned  Theban  into  the 
belief  that  he  was  really  unwell. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   DULL   YOTTXG   MAX'S   IDEA    OF   WOMAN'S   LOVE. 

AFTER  dinner,  during  the  sweet  hour  of  twilight, 
the  residents  of  Pompney  Place,  with  a  party  from 
Laura's  residence,  consisting  of  two  or  three  sweet 
hearts  from  Saratoga,  attended  by  some  rapid  young 
cladders,  were  loitering  upon  the  shaven  grass,  amid 
the  peacocks  with  their  argus-eyed  plumage,  to  inhale 
the  fragrance  of  the  roses  already  dew-besprent,  to 
watch  the  shadows  deepening  o'er  the  durden,  and  to 
gossip  upon  the  season  at  the  watering-places.  One  of 
the  bevy,  following  idly  the  bats  as  they  wheeled  in  the 
air  in  pursuit  of  the  flies,  suddenly  uttered  an  ill-sup 
pressed  exclamation,  as  if  in  answer  to  some  serious 
thought  that  weighed  down  her  mind,  and  bent  her 
brow.  Its  unusual  manner  caused  a  slight  movement 


DINAH.  49 

of  inquiry  and  alarm  among  the  coxcombs  who  were 
smoking  near  by. 

LADY,  with  a  laugh.  "  Nothing,  I  assure  you,  worth 
revealing.  But  simply  the  shadowiness  of  the  hour  in 
spired  me  with  an  absurd  revery,  of  which,  of  course, 
I  was  the  mobled  queen." 

"  Oh  disclose  it  to  us,"  said  the  party,  in  chorus, 
gathering  around.  "  Let  us  have  the  romance  which 
would  contain  such  a  jewel  of  a  heroine." 

"  My  romances  are  too  warm  to  be  frozen  into 
words,  but  let  me  give  you  the  predicament  of  this. 
Do  you  know,  I  thought  myself  reclining  somewhere, 
with  the  dusk  of  melancholy  around  me,  but  one 
whom  I  loved  was  at  my  side,  (movement  among  the 
gentlemen,)  when  a  velvet  bat  came  down  as  though 
to  drink  its  fill  from  my  lips.  Suddenly  it  assumed 
the  lofty  stature  and  form  of  the  evil  genius  of  misery, 
floating  indistinctly  on  sable  pinions,  and  said  in  the 
tones  of  the  concealed  Jones  in  the  play,  '  The  being 
whom  thou  lovest  have  I  doomed  to  misery,  if  thou 
dost  longer  ask  his  affection.  Choose,  then,  his  misery 
or  thine.  Wilt  thou  give  him  up,  or  wilt  thou  doom 
him  to  damnation  ? '  What  'did  I  reply  to  the  horrid 
creature,  'come,  guess  ?  " 

"  You  must  have  replied,"  said  Charles,  answering 
readily,  "  that  you  would  see  him  damned  (sensation 
among  the  bystanders)  ere  you  gave  him  up,  for  that 
is  woman's  nature.  Yes,  she  loves  to  be  loved  better 
than  she  loves  the  being  she  loves." 

"  How  ungracious !  "  exclaimed  a  young  lady,  viva 
ciously.  "  You  do  not  know  woman's  nature.  Why, 
I  myself  feel  I  could  love  disinterestedly  enough  to 
give  up  the  object  of  my  love,  were  it  for  his  happi- 
3 


50  DINAH. 

ness,  but  I  am  quite  sure,  you  know,  (naively,)  that  my 
lover  would  think  too  much  of  me  to  let  me  do  it." 

After  a  while,  the  assemblage  having  retired  to 
the  parlor,  they  floated  in  the  light  fairy  habiliments 
of  summer,  to  low  purling  music  in  the  mazy  thread 
of  the  dance,  and  Charles,  inspired  with  the  scene, 
seemed  as  if  he  wished  to  make  amends  to  himself 
for  his  opinion  of  woman's  sweet  selfishness.  With 
a  flush  of  pleasure  on  his  brow,  he  devoted  himself 
to  the  fair  girls  circling  in  the  graceful  rounds  of 
the  dance,  which  so  surprisingly  develops  all  that  is 
genial  or  hopeful  in  female  youth,  and  became  once 
more  the  pleasant  fellow  he  was,  before  he  felt  the 
satieties  of  idleness.  But  this  was  no  more  than  a  par 
oxysm.  Indeed,  even  while  gayly  conciliating  the 
beauty  who  had  brought  up  the  delicate  problem  of 
love  with  the  honey  of  adulation  in  a  secret  alcove, 
she  was  forced  to  notice  the  flatness  of  his  feelings 
traced  upon  his  countenance. 

"  I  knew  it  was  all  hollow,"  said  she.  "  You  are 
only  agreeable  when  you  are  a  hypocrite,  sir.  Go  and 
immure  yourself  in  a  wine-cellar,  and  reflect  upon  the 
emptiness  of  the  bottles  as  you  drain  them  slowly,  one 
after  the  other.  But,  seriously,  you  do  not  seem  to  be 
particularly  brilliant  in  the  haziness  of  common  and 
vapid  pleasures.  Perhaps  it  is  in  the  sunshine  of  sor 
row,  such  splendid  sunshine  as  that  only,  your  nature 
can  be  seen.  Indeed,  you  appear  to  be  waiting  in  list 
less  melancholy  for  some  great  bereavement.  Grief 
will  make  you  wise." 

"  Pshaw  !  I  think  of  turning  butcher  and  slaugh 
tering  lambs  for  excitement,"  replied  he,  laughing; 
"  no,  it  is  the — no — by  the  way,  how  strange !  "  con- 


DINAH.  51 

tinned  he,  in  a  wandering  manner,  but  suddenly  light 
ing  up,  as  his  eyes  happened  to  rest  upon  the  young 
girl  Dinah,  at  the  other  end  of  the  room,  who  was  lis 
tening  to  the  aunt  in  a  dignified  and  apparently  self- 
protecting  manner. 

"  By  Jove !  "  said  the  young  man,  suddenly,  in  a 
still  lower  and  entirely  indistinct  tone,  "  that  still  atti 
tude  !  Do  you  (abruptly  to  his  wondering  vis-a-vis) 
believe  in  witches  ? " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  beauty,  "  whether  they  are  wan 
dering  in  disembodied  spirit,  or  are  animating  human 
tabernacles." 

The  old  maid  had  spoken  sharply  to  the  young  girl, 
having  previously  given  some  characteristic  direction 
which  she  had  failed  to  entirely  comprehend.  In  fact, 
this  young  girl  seemed  destined  to  undergo  with  this 
lady  the  fate  of  the  beauty  in  the  tale,  the  trouble  of 
whose  existence  was  an  old  fairy  bothering  her  contin 
ually  with  fearfully  entangled  skeins  to  unravel.  How 
ever,  when  she  was  at  liberty,  she  left  the  middle-aged 
fairy  with  a  quick  step,  and  threading  her  way  outside 
of  the  dancers,  retired  from  the  apartment,  while 
Charles,  resuming  his  conversation  with  the  heiress,  in 
dulged  in  many  wicked  remarks  on  various  matters, 
being  as  desperate  with  regard  to  the  feelings  of  others 
as  he  was  to  his  own. 

Shortly  after  the  departure  of  the  young  dependent, 
the  young  gentleman,  Rudolph,  appearing  somewhat 
exhausted  by  his  quadrille  enterprises,  and  fanning 
himself,  wandered  mechanically,  or  as  if  to  take  the  air, 
towards  the  door  at  which  she  had  departed.  Looking 
around  carefully  at  this  point,  with  an  observing  regard, 
he  quietly  walked  out.  The  girl  was  proceeding  slowly 


52  DINAH. 

upon  the  terrace  in  the  shadow  of  the  trees,  and  on  ob 
serving  him,  she  at  first  quickened  her  step,  and  then, 
stopping,  leaned  against  the  stone  balustrade.  The  faint 
odors  came  up  from  the  fields,  and  she  turned  her  face 
from  him  to  the  west,  and  sought  the  breeze. 

"  Why  do  you  treat  me  thus  coldly,  Diana  ?  "  said 
he,  quickly,  in  a  breathing,  passionate  whisper.  "  I  can 
make  you  equal  with  them.  I  will  take  you  away  from 
them,  if  you  will  but  trust  in  me,  and  even  if  your 
father—" 

"  Hush  !  "  said  the  girl,  starting  quickly. 

"  Away  from  this  cursed  old  woman,  these  miser 
able — "  continued  he. 

She  turned  to  escape.  He  followed  her  as  she  went 
from  him,  when — quick  the  scene  changed  again — 
for  as  he  passed  a  by-passage-way,  his  pursuit  was 
brought  abruptly  to  an  end  by  an  unpleasant  con 
frontation  with  a  short  individual  bearing  a  salver  in 
his  hands.  This  was  a  young  male  retainer  of  the  es 
tablishment,  fated  by  his  tutelary  power  to  produce 
such  collisions.  In  fact,  as  he  was  never  found  when 
he  ought  to  be,  he  made  up  his  deficiency  by  emerging 
constantly  from  unexpected  places  when  he  ought  not 
to.  The  cook,  a  sinewy  and  malignant  female,  was  en 
venomed  with  a  satanic  antipathy  to  this  unfortunate 
young  man,  and  had,  in  fact,  administered  corporeal 
punishment  to  him  that  morning.  The  result  was,  that 
even  at  this  moment  he  was  meditating  in  a  vinegary 
manner  upon  human  nature,  and  contemplating  a  gen 
eral  revenge.  The  young  girl  had  already  disappeared, 
and  the  gentleman  was  overcome  with  passion. 

"  Out  of  the  way,  you  pirate,"  said  he.  The  bosom 
of  the  injured  Gluckinson  swelled  again  with  indigna- 


DINAH.  53 

tion.  "  It  is  not  his  calling  me  a  pirate,"  said  lie  to 
himself,  "  that  I  consider  a  title  of  honor  and  distinc 
tion,  but  it  is  his  manner,  and  I  must  have  satisfaction 
from  somebody,  and  by  heavens,  destiny  has  made  the 
right  difference  in  our  sizes.  I'm  the  biggest,  I'll  fol 
low  him,  and  frighten  him.  Hollo  !  you.  Hollo  !  " 
said  he. 

"  Scoundrel !  "  said  the  young  gentleman,  suddenly 
turning. 

"  Eh  1  oh,  don't !  Oh  dear  !  "  said  Mr.  Gluckinson, 
in  a  feeble  voice. 

"  Sottish  mummer !  "  said  the  young  gentleman. 

"  I  shall  be  obliged  to  you  for  your  orders,"  con 
tinued  James,  fatuously — "  perhaps  you  will  take  a 
cream  ? " 

"  Get  out,  you  rascal !  "  said  the  passionate  young 
man,  rushing  at  him  in  fury.  "  Sottish  mummer  !  " 

The  unfortunate  youth,  dexterously  retaining  thq 
waiter  of  creams  upon  a  level,  immediately  fled  to  a 
distant  apartment,  and  having  shut  himself  securely 
therein,  commenced  to  relieve  himself  of  his  excitement 
in  a  philosophical  manner,  by  returning  the  opprobrious 
epithets  of  his  enemy  in  a  loud  voice  through  the  key 
hole  or  in  eating  the  creams. — The  young  man,  in  the 
mean  time,  had  returned  to  the  saloon.  The  flush  of 
his  countenance  had  given  way  to  the  habitual  pallor. 


54  DINAH. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

TWO     SYMPATHETIC     NATTJBES. 

As  Nathaniel  approached  Squire  Wellwood's  dwell 
ing  on  business,  for  the  first  time  since  the  advent  of 
the  daughter  of  the  house,  he  observed  through  the 
trees  some  ladies  alighting  at  the  door,  and  in  the  ob 
servatory,  upon  the  top  of  the  mansion,  the  young  lady 
herself,  like  another  Tanaquil,  though  merry,  calling 
out  to  the  visitors  the  state  of  the  establishment  within. 

"  Oh,  heavens  !  There  she  is  !  Elevated  as  she  is 
above  the  rest  of  her  sex,  (especially  at  the  present 
moment,)  who  can  help  loving  her  ?  Goodness !  she  ob 
serves  my  form.  That  lovely  eye — both  of  those  lovely 
eyes  bent  upon  me,"  said  he,  dodging  behind  a  tree, 
"  I  feel  as  if  I  wanted  to  go  home.  This,  then,  is  love ! 
Oh,  be  still,  my  heart,  and  lie  down  !  She  is  now  ob 
serving  my  bearing.  She  averts  her  gaze  a  moment 
from  me,  but  to  revert  in  memory  to  the  last  time  she 
saw  me.  She  is  lost  in  sweet  musing,"  continued  he, 
pursuing  his  ardent  imagination,  "  now  she  turns  pale 
— perhaps  she  falls  senseless  in  the  arms  of  a  friend. 
Dear  me !  "  continued  he,  after  a  few  moments,  as  he 
sat  down  in  a  summer  chair  in  the  conservatory,  which 
he  had  gained.  . 

"  Good  morning,"  said  a  sweet,  silvery  voice.  A 
pair  of  lustrous  eyes  were  bent  upon  him.  "  Papa 
wished  me  to  welcome  you." 

"  Heavens !  I  say,  you  startled  me  a  little,  you 
know,  Miss  "Wellwood  !  " 

"  "Will  you  accompany  me  to  the  parlor  ?  and  papa 


DINAH.  55 

will  soon  meet  you.  You  have  dropped  your  papers, 
allow  Samuel  to  collect  them,  Mr.  Bonney  !  " 

"  Certainly !  (While  he's  doing  it,  I'll  try  and  col 
lect  myself !") 

"  And,  Sam,  bring  a  glass  of  wine  for  Mr.  Bonney." 

"  Yes,  marm." 

"  (Goodness  !  what  is  this  ?  Fate,  in  the  form  of 
this  domestic,  has  left  us  alone  together.  It  is  a  speci 
ally  dispensed  hour.  I'll  seize  the  opportunity,  and  say 
something  ardent  to  her  at  once.  I  must.  I'll  summon 
up  courage,  and  express  myself  in  an  extraordinary 
manner.)  Miss  Wellwood,  the  momentous  occasion  has 
now  come  when  the  vehemence  of  my  feelings  urges 
me  to  ask  you — to  ask  you — ah — how  do  you  do  ?  " 

("  The  vehemence  of  his — •)  Oh,  very  well,  indeed, 
thank  you.  "Will  you  take  this  glass  of  wine,  Mr.  Bon 
ney  ?  You  will  feel  refreshed  by  it,  after  your  walk, 
you  know." 

"  Ah,  yes,  I  am  refreshed,  indeed,  when  I  drink  in 
the  heavenly  spirit  of  those — eh  ? — of  that  tumbler,  you 
know."  (By  heavens,  I  will  ask  her  to  let  me  write 
to  her,  I  can  do  that ;  they  like  letters,  even  if  they 
shouldn't  like  the  man  who  sends  them.)  Miss  "Well- 
wood,  I  seize  this  occasion  to  ask  you  if  you  would  re 
ceive — that  is,  if  I  might  send  you  a — " 

"  You  will  send  me  a — •  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes — that  is — you  know — I — " 

"  You  will  kindly—" 

"  Yes,  yes — a  theological  work  or  two  from  the 
library,  to  amuse  you,  you  know  ?  " 

"  Oh,  certainly,  certainly,  with  pleasure  !  (Theolog 
ical  work  ?  This  is  singular.") 

"  Oh,  Miss  "Wellwood  !  "  continued  the  young  man, 


56  DINAH. 

in  rash  precipitancy,  urged  on  by  his  reflections  upon  the 
state  of  affairs,  "  although  this  is  the  first  time  that  I 
have  had  the  felicity  of  having  seen  you  on  your  own  roof 
— I  mean — under  your  own  roof,  to  be  sure — let  me  ask 
you — I  know  you  are  looking  in  another  direction,  and 
it  is  what  makes  me  ask,  is  there,  oh  tell  me,  can  I  feel 
that  there  is  any  prospect  here — such  as  would  warrant 
my  coming  here  frequently,  you  know  ?  " 

("  A  prospect,  such  as  would  warrant  his  coming 
here  frequently  ?  "What  does  he  mean  ?  He  is  an  in 
fatuated  enthusiast  of  nature !)  Certainly,  it  is  very 
fine,  Mr.  Bonney  ;  I  was  just  contemplating  it,  and  I  felt 
as  if  I  would  like  to  be  thus  engaged  forever !  " 

("  Heavens  !  what  unexpected  frankness  !  She  con 
fesses  she'd  like  to  be  engaged  ! )  But  not  to  me — not 
to  me !  P 

("  But  not  to  him  ;  he  does  not  like  the  view  as  it 
appears  to  him  there.)  Ah,  it  is  on  your  side  I  find 
fault  with  it.  The  opening  there  is  too  great.  Don't 
you  think  so  ?  " 

("  Oh,  the  cursed  inequality  of  our  purses !  She 
has  already  been  thinking  of  me,  but  objects  to  the 
opening  on  my  side  !  ") 

"  I  think,  on  the  whole,  an  abrupt  slope  would  be 
better,  don't  you  ?  " 

("  Heavens  !  Can  she  be  actually  advising  me  to 
slope  !  and  in  what  singular  language,  too.  My  hopes 
are  dashed  down.  I — I — ") 

"  How  are  you,  Nat  ?  "  asked  the  old  gentleman, 
bursting  into  the  room  at  this  moment.  "  The  girls  are 
on  the  piazza,  engaged  in  cat's  cradle,  and  run  away, 
Laura.  A  letter  from  Mudg — eh  ?  I  made  her  come 
down.  Although  she  seemed  to  want  to  in  this  case, 


DINAH.  57 

she  generally  has  to  force  herself  into  being  polite. 
But  you  must  excuse  her,  her  ardent  attachment,  you 
know,  and  all  that.  Well,  Hudgeon  has  consented  to 
treat—" 

"  No,  he  hasn't." 

"  What !  the  dev— " 

"  No.  Presenting  his  respects  to  you,  he  says  that 
it  is  useless  to  play  that,  or  any  other,  game  with  him  ; 
that  he  contemplates  donating  the  land  to  the  Temple- 
ville  Association  of  Reformed  Inebriates  on  their  signi 
fying  their  intention  of  erecting  an  asylum  thereon,  and 
naming  it  after  him." 

"  What !  Is  he  going  to  stick  a  house  full  of 
drunken  men,  hooting  and  falling  out  of  the  windows 
all  day  long,  in  the  midst  of  gentlemen's  residences  ? 
I'd  like  to  see  him  do  it,  hang  him  !  " 

"  Wait,  we'll  find  some  flaw  and  scare  the  Inebriates 
off,  and,  being  bothered,  he'll  be  glad  to  sell  to  us." 

"  Yes,  yes  !  It  is  righteous  enough  to  scare  him 
into  it,  isn't  it,  provided  we  pay  him  twice  what  it  is 
worth  ? " 

"  That  is  a  peculiar  point,"  said  Nat ;  "whether 
cheating  a  man  into  doing  himself  a  favor  is  in  strict 
accordance  with  a  high  moral  standard  or  not,  I  can't 
precisely  determine." 

"  Ha,  ha  !  it  will  serve  him  rightly.  I  once  knew 
just  such  an  occurrence,  or  something  similar  to  it — 
that  is,  it  was  not  exactly  like  it.  It  happened  to  a  man 
living  in — " 

"  Hold  on !    Wait  a  moment — " 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  " 

"  I  thought  I  heard  the  ladies  coming  down  stairs, 
and  I  thought  I  would  warn  you  to — " 
3* 


58  DINAH. 

"  Of  course  !  certainly.  He  was  living,  at  the  time, 
in  Cayuga — he  had  a  bald  head,  and  five  front  teeth 
gone,  and — " 

"  I  must  go.  I  think  I  had  better  pay  my  respects 
to  your  daughter,  and  go,"  continued  the  wretched 
Ka*. 

"  Certainly,  see  her  by  all  means  before  you  go. 
Sam,  call  your  mistress.  Let  me  see.  I  believe  I  said 
there  were  five  of  this  man's  teeth  gone — I  was  wrong, 
there  were  six,  which  time  and  hard  biscuit  had  caused 
to  succumb.  Well,  sir,  he — " 

The  young  lady,  accompanied  by  her  young  friends, 
sailed  graciously  into  the  parlor. 

"  Look  at  her ! "  said  the  old  gentleman,  in  a 
low  tone  to  Nat,  suddenly  remembering  his  conspiracy 
with  the  spinster,  and  her  language  in  reference  to  the 
matter.  "  Beneath  this  mask  of  vivacity,  she  is  hiding 
a  low-lived — I  mean — love-lorn  pensiveness." 

Nat  did  not  hear  what  he  said.  He  had  been  prac 
tising  a  concentrated  look  of  melancholy  and  affection 
with  which  he  hoped  to  awaken  a  responsive  thrill  in 
the  bosom  of  the  young  lady  on  her  return.  One  of 
these,  at  this  point,  met  the  old  gentleman's  gaze. 

"  God  bless  me  !  What  a  distortion  !  What  is  the 
matter  ?  Bilious  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  Nat,  feebly,  immediately  reducing 
his  expression  to  the  elementary  smile,  and  flirting  his 
gaze  like  a  Drummond  light  around  upon  the  young 
lady. 

("  Dear  me,  his  conduct  is  very  singular !  At  this 
moment  his  looks  are  even  idiotic,")  said  the  latter. 

("  Ah,  she  murmurs.  She  is  affected.  Yes,  she 
observes  my  sentiment.  Oh,  now  let  me  confine  my- 


DINAH.  59 

self  to  little  quiet  allusions  in  the  conversation.  I've 
been  too  precipitate." 

The  young  ladies  to  whom  Nat  was  introduced 
here  commencing  a  sprightly  altercation  upon  the 
gossip  of  the  day,  he  rattled  with  them,  thougli  in 
found  thought  devising  a  beautiful  and  deep-laid 
turn. 

"We  students  of  legal  lore  are  singular,  ladies," 
said  he,  at  a  propitious  moment.  "We  are  enabled 
often  to  think  of  three  or  four  things  at  once." 

"  Yes  !  and  how  many  are  you  grasping  now,  Mr. 
Bonney  ?  "  asked  the  unsuspecting  ladies. 

"  Ah !  "  said  the  wily  counsellor,  "  can  you  con 
sider  the  countless  diversities  of  a  perfect  character. 
Thus  many,  though  they  be  lost  in  its  loveliness  as  the 
blessed  stars  are  in  the  daylight,  do  I  think  of  now,  for 
I  am  thinking  of — " 

"  A  miserable  scoundrel,  that  Mudgeon,"  said  the 
old  gentleman,  who  was  meditating  apart  upon  the  in 
tractable  Mudgeon's  message. 

("  Her  looks  confuse  me.  I  don't  dare  to  say  it) — 
and — and  do  I  think  of  now !  "  concluded  the  wavering 
young  man. 

("  What  eccentricity,"  reflected  Laura.  "  Can 
that  glass  of  wine  have  mounted  to  his  head?  His 
looks  are  singular,  and  his  remarks  are  incomprehen 
sible  and) — Pardon  me,  Mr.  Bonney,  do  you  not  find 
that  this  habit  of  entertaining  so  many  ideas  at  once 
sometimes  produces  a  confusion  in  their  communica 
tion  ?  " 

"  Eh  ?  "  said  Nat,  slowly.  "  Well,  perhaps  it  does. 
(Any  how,"  reflected  he,  consoling  himself,  "  this  fail 
ing  is  no  worse  than  its  opposite,  that  eminent  charac- 


60  DINAH. 

teristic  of -the  female  sex,  of  having  a  great  power  of 
communication,  and  no  ideas  to  call  for  its  use.") 

"  But  I  hope  you  will  not  consider  that  I  shall  en 
tertain  a  less  opinion  of  your  profession  on  that  account, 
Mr.  Bonney,"  said  Laura,  laughing.  "  Indeed,  as  hu 
man  beings — that  is,  the  most  of  them,  you  know — 
they  are  entitled  to  our  good  will  and  respect." 

"  When  does  the  ball  of  the  Lancers  take  place  ?  " 
lisped  a  young  lady  hanging  on  Laura's  arm,  and  mak 
ing  eyes  at  Mr.  Bonney.  "  Will  the  regiment  dance  in 
unison  a  new  war-hornpipe  expressly  invented  for  the 
occasion  by  the  drum-major  ?  How  curious  it  will  be." 

"  Yery  good — very  good,"  joined  in  the  old  gentle 
man,  recovering  his  equanimity  at  this  point ;  "  that 
reminds  me  of  a  legend  of  what  a  band  of  intoxicated 
Mohawk  warriors  did  once.  You  see,"  continued  he, 
complacently  following  the  party  toward  the  piano, 
one  of  them  having  accepted  Mr.  Bonney's  sudden 
proposition  to  execute  the  latest  fantasia — "  these  war 
riors  having  come  across  a  white  man  wheeling  a 
barrel  on  a  wheelbarrow  in  the  forest — they — that  is — 
I  think  it  was  a  barrel — they — "  , 

"  Oh,  I'm  going.  I  must  go  to  my  office,  ladies," 
said  Nat  with  some  symptoms  of  ferocity. 

"  Eh  ? "  said  the  old  gentleman,  staring  at  him. 
"  Well,  I'll  go  too.  You  can  go  on  Thomas,  and  I  on 
Timothy.  We'll  go  around  by  the  Gosling  farms — it 
is  shady,"  continued  he,  resolving,  like  Shehrazade,  to 
postpone  his  story  for  a  short  period. 

Nat  resignedly  followed  the  old  gentleman,  for 
the  sudden  conviction  that  he  had  certainly  made 
an  alteration  of  some  kind  in  his  position  with  the 
young  lady,  made  him  feel  as  if  he  could  cheer 
fully  endure  any  amount  of  torture.  Li  the  easy 


DINAH.  61 

moments  of  conversation  as  they  went  along  in  the 
leafy  winding  road,  having  forgotten  the  drunken  war 
riors,  the  Squire  proceeded  to  observe  that  the  intensity 
of  passion  on  the  part  of  his  daughter,  shown  towards 
Charles,  was  hereditary,  and  derived  from  the  paternal 
side  of  the  house,  and  that  this  mutual  love  was  fortu 
nate,  as  they  had  made  up  their  minds  on  the  match 
when  they  were  babies,  (he  and  Charles's  father,)  and 
farther,  that  he  had  often  speculated  upon  the  possi 
bility  that  some  other  person  might  attempt  to  win  the 
affection  of  his  daughter,  and  that,  upon  such  an  hy 
pothesis,  the  painful  necessity  had  always  occurred  to 
him  of  removing  such  person  from  his  earthly  sphere 
of  action  by  a  lingering  species  of  torture. 

"  I  should  consider  it  my  duty  to  tie  him  before  a 
slow  fire.  I  would,  by  Heaven  !  "What  business  would 
the  sacrilegious  wretch  have  to  steal  in  and  interrupt 
sacred  arrangements  ? " 

"  But  supposing  she  loved  him,  and  didn't  the  other, 
I  don't  see  how  the  arrangements  would  be  sacred," 
said  Nat.  "  On  the  contrary,  I  should  say  they  would 
be  damnable  and — " 

"  Oh  pshaw  !  It  is  not  love  that  is  the  important 
element  in  these  matters.  It  is  very  well,  but  the  family 
arrangement  is  the  thing.  These  marriages  of  inclina 
tion  without  the  family  arrangement  are  disastrous. 
Koast  butterflies  for  dinner,  and  nothing  else ! " 


62  DINAH. 


CHAPTEE    X. 

MASTEE    AND    SEEVANT. 

AT  the  breakfast  table  one  morning,  Charles  ex 
pressed  an  unseemly  irreverence  for  the  memory  of  the 
venerable  and  world-honored  Christopher,  stating  with 
an  aggrieved  air  that  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  mis 
chievous  and  overweening  curiosity  of  that  navigator, 
it  would  have  been  his  lot,  in  all  probability,  to  have 
been  born  in  France  or  Russia,  or  some  other  country 
where,  as  conspirator,  perhaps,  he  might  now  be  enjoy 
ing  himself  and  disturbing  the  government.  All  of 
which  was  very  ingenious.  Having  indulged  in  a  few 
other  pleasantries  of  a  like  doubtful  nature,  the  restless 
young  man,  (who,  if  he  had  been  born  a  blacksmith, 
would  have  been  happy  enough,)  with  the  dissatisfac 
tion  of  idleness  in  his  soul,  sauntered  away  in  melan 
choly  stupidity  to  hear  the  noble  laugh  of  nature  in 
cheerful  solitudes,  and  still  green  chancels  amid  the 
lofty  forests. 

Emerging  from  the  civilized  groves  of  his  father's 
estate,  he  plunged  into  a  thick  forest  of  lofty  pines, 
where  scarce  a  single  ray  of  sunlight  penetrated  the 
intertwined  branches,  and  after  pursuing  a  winding 
road,  he  came  to  a  little  gloomy  apartment  of  thicken 
ing  verdure  where,  seated  upon  a  rustic  seat  made  by 
a  fallen  tree,  he  listened  for  a  long  while  to  the  songs 
of  the  chatterboxes  in  the  neighboring  thicket  with  a 
new,  exalted  sense  of  breathing  freedom.  His  heart 
swelled  within  him  as  sweet  nature  caressed  him,  and 
smiled  upon  him,  and  pressing  his  own  hand  in  lonely 


DINAH.  63 

pleasure,  lie  rose  once  more  to  pursue  his  way  through 
the  maze  of  verdure,  breathing  the  fresh  air  and  the  de 
licious  odors  of  the  tangled  wild,  and  struck  with  the 
low  sound  of  the  distant  waterfall.  Some  way  off  in  the 
thicket,  as  he  walked  along,  a  clear  boyish  voice,  in  a 
slow  song,  fell  upon  his  ear  above  the  tinkling  water. 
The  accents  were  bright,  but  there  seemed  a  kind  of 
sadness  in  them.  He  reflected  that  the  song  ought  not 
to  have  been  such.  It  made  him  nervous.  Soon,  how 
ever,  it  degenerated  into  a  careless  whistle.  "  He  is 
corning  this  way.  I'll  put  myself  in  ambush,"  said  he, 
"  and  scare  the  little  fellow  as  he  comes  up.  It  will 
make  him  brave,"  and  he  stooped  amid  the  bushes. 
The  rustle  of  the  parting  branches  was  soon  heard  near 
by,  and  he  jumped  out,  like  a  lazy  tiger  from  the  jungle, 
upon  the  comer. 

"  Eh  !  what,"  said  he,  surprised  himself.  The  girl 
Dinah  stood  in  the  attitude  of  defence  before  him, 
holding  a  basket  firmly  in  front  of  her,  which  she  had 
placed  there  instinctively.  The  blood  was  mantling 
her  cheek.  "  I  beg  pardon,"  said  he.  She  had  now 
recovered  herself,  however,  and  bowed  to  him  with  a 
decorous  obeisance. 

"  Where  is  the  boy  ?  "  said  he. 

"  What  boy  ?  "  asked  she. 

"  The  boy  who  was  whistling." 

"It  was  only  a  torn-boy.  It  was  I,"  said  she, 
laughing. 

"  I  recollect  now,  it  seemed  like  your  voice.  Where 
have  you  been  ?  " 

"  I  have  been  to  the  house  where  I  used  to  live.  I 
thought  I  would  gather  some  blackberries  as  I  came 
back,  to  present  them  to — to  your  mother." 


64:  DINAH. 

She  looked  like  the  blooming  child  of  the  genius  of 
some  bygone  summer,  who  had  inherited  her  parent's 
old  clothes,  and  her  sylvan  place  of  haunt  in  these 
leafy  woods.  She  wore  a  dress  of  faded  green  silk,  but 
it  fitted  neatly  to  her  person,  and  fell  in  graceful  folds. 

"  "Will  you  have  some  of  the  blackberries  ?  "  asked 
she. 

"  No,"  replied  he,  after  looking  at  her  for  a  moment. 
His  tone  was  low  and  gentle.  "  You  are  going  home, 
are  you  not  ?  "  continued  he,  after  a  moment,  with  an 
indolent  gesture.  "  Yes  !  "Well,  I  was  going  the  other 
way." 

"  Good-morning,  sir,  "said  she,  respectfully.  "  There 
is  a  large  path  by  the  beech  yonder,  leading  towards  the 
lake.  If  you  desire  to  go  that  way,  it  is  easier." 

"  Stay  a  moment.  What  made  you  whistle  ?  " 
asked  he,  having  nothing  better  to  say,  and  evidently 
wanting  to  say  something. 

She  blushed  a  little,  and  laughed.  "  I  was,  like 
Cymon,  sir,  in  the  greenwood  shade." 

"  Well,  perhaps,  it  was  better  to  whistle  that  song 
than  to  sing  it  in  the  way  you  did,"  said  he.  "  It 
sounded  to  me  very  like  a  Methodist  hymn." 

"  It's  a  love-song.  I  learned  it  of  Judith,"  con 
tinued  she,  with  a  slight  air  of  abstraction  ;  "  a  colored 
girl  we  lived  with.  She  has  the  religious  nature  which 
characterizes  her  race,  and  I  suppose  we  both  give  it  a 
camp-meeting  air,  without  knowing  it." 

"  Judith,  a  colored — a  servant  once — a — " 

"  Oh  no.  She  is  my  friend.  We  do  not  know 
many  people  living  here,  besides  those  at  your  home, 
sir,"  and  she  drew  herself  up  with  a  proud  air  and  left 
the  sentence  unfinished. 


DINAH.  65 

A  feeling  of  pity  for  the  young  girl,  whose  sorry 
circumstances  had  forced  her  to  take  a  negro  for  an 
intimate  (as  girls  must  have  intimates)  took  posses 
sion  of  him.  Were  her  thoughts  and  desires  restricted 
to  a  degree  which  such  a  companionship  alone  would 
indicate  ?  From  motives  of  curiosity,  he  continued  the 
conversation. 

"  Well,  you  say,"  resumed  he,  "  that  she  is  your 
friend.  Do  you  think  she  is  capable  of  appreciating 
your  friendship  ? " 

"  !No.  She  treats  me  as  her  superior,  because  I  am 
white — but " — she  paused  again,  as  if  what  she  were 
about  to  say,  might  be  perhaps  uninteresting  to  her 
master.  With  a  kind  of  coquettish  carriage  she  started 
up  to  go,  but  still  hesitated  and  lingered  again.  Upon 
the  French  principle  of  fraternity  in  the  human  family, 
she  was  no  doubt  thinking  she  would  continue  the  con 
versation  with  him  a  little  longer.  She  was  holding 
the  basket  of  berries  against  her  frock  with  both  hands, 
and  underneath  an  air  of  sadness  as  she  stood  thus, 
there  yet  appeared  in  her  manner  a  constitutional  kind 
of  firmness,  as  though  poverty  and  misery  could  never 
change  the  serenity  of  her  mind. 

"  Shall  I  hold  the  basket  ?  "  said  Charles.  Just  then 
he  asked  himself  if  he  would  be  inclined  to  Laura,  were 
she  as  poor  and  inferior  in  station,  for  instance,  as  this 
girl.  "It  is  all  in  position.  There  is  no  nature  about 
it,  of  course,  except  that,"  said  he.  He  sighed  audibly. 
There  was  something  disturbing  his  soul  all  the  time. 
His  dissatisfaction  increased,  and  leaving  her  abruptly, 
he  pursued  a  careless  reflection  as  he  wended  his  way 
in  the  wood  by  himself. 


66  DINAH. 

CHAPTER    XI. 

THE   SOCIAL  HOTJE. 

A  LARGE  party  was  gathered  to  dine  that  evening  at 
the  house.  Among  others,  were  two  wits  from  New 
York,  to  give  it  an  intellectual  tone.  They  both  ap 
peared  with  a  dull  air,  each  evidently  oppressed  with 
the  weight  of  his  own  reputation  and  overcome  with 
a  melancholy  fear  of  the  other.  The  company,  espe 
cially  the  literary  part  of  it,  however,  were  in  a  constant 
state  of  pleasing  expectation  of  a  great  encounter  be 
tween  these  wretched  beings,  and  Dr.  Fuffles,  the  cler 
gyman  of  the  neighborhood,  kept  his  eyes  upon  one  of 
them  in  such  a  continued  manner,  as  to  engender  in  his 
mind  an  apprehension  of  bodily  injury. 

"  It  has  been  a  fine  day,"  said  this  unhappy  crea 
ture,  after  a  few  moments,  to  the  other  wit. 

"  Yes,  but  rather  too  warm,"  said  the  latter,  imbib 
ing  his  soup  noisily,  with  an  undefined  intention  of  pro 
tecting  himself. 

"  Ha !  "  whispered  Dr.  Fuffles,  to  his  next  neigh 
bor,  Laura,  "  he  already  evinces  satire.  The  encounter 
will  commence  presently." 

"  Oh,  how  I  love  Sir  Walter  Scott,  dear  Sir  Wal 
ter  !  "  said  Charles's  aunt,  suddenly  after  a  pause,  to 
start  the  literary  ajr. 

"  I  detest  him,  ma'am.  I  detest  his  works.  I  can't 
bear  to  have  them  mentioned !  "  said  Mr.  Pithkin,  a 
large  gentleman  seated  at  her  side. 

NATHANIEL.  "  Are  there  any  particular  works  you 
have  reference  to,  Mr.  Pithkin  ?  " 

MK.  PITHKIN.     "  Oh,  no.     I  can  mention  no  par- 


DINAH.  67 

ticular  work,  sir,  no  particular  work.    I  detest  them  all 
so  much.  I  have  never  been  able  to  read  any  of  'em." 

"But  Byron!    Mr.  Pithkin,  oh!"  said  the  aunt, 
turning  in  poetic  abstraction  to  him, 

"  Know'st  thou  the  land  where  the  cypress  and  myrtle 
Are  emblems  of  deeds  that  are  done  in  their  clime  ?  " 

PITHKIN,  promptly.     "  !N"o,  ma'am." 

At  this  point,  the  wit  who  had  the  biggest  reputa 
tion  for  saying  ill-natured  things,  having  finished  his 
fish,  evinced  suddenly  a  great  internal  excitement. 
Leaping  high  into  the  air,  (that  is,  metaphorically ,)-with 
a  frisky  curvet  arid  caracole,  he  came  down  in  a  re 
bounding  swoop,  and  immediately  thrust  a  fearful  witti 
cism  at  the  second  wit.  This  party  of  the  second  part 
was  taken  unawares.  Feeling  that  something  had 
passed  through  the  moral  centre  of  his  intellectual  uni 
verse,  a  convulsive  and  idiotic  smile  passed  over  his 
countenance.  He  said  nothing  just  then,  but,  no  doubt, 
had  an  intention  of  doing  so  after  a  moment  or  so.  This 
assault  caused  a  temporary  hush  in  the  conversation. 
In  a  moment,  however,  easy  and  more  common-place 
ideas  commenced  their  pleasant  riot  therein,  and,  in 
deed,  kept  agreeable  possession  thereof  till  the  dessert 
— each  one  talking  to  his  neighbor,  as  he  ought  to 
in  successful  dinner-parties,  and  no  one  listening,  in  a 
highly  natural  manner.  At  this  pcunt,  however,  Dr. 
Fuffles  suddenly  concluded  to  cough  with  such  startling 
deliberation,  that  the  attention  of  the  entire  company 
was  called  to  him.  Having  finished,  that  morning,  a 
sermon  for  the  coming  Sunday,  which  treated  of  some 
exquisite  metaphysical  subjects,  he  deliberately  intended 
to  give  them  a  few  pages  in  advance,  at  that  time,  and 


68  DINAH. 

on  the  spot.  Without  swerving  from  his  purpose,  he 
instantly  commenced,  and  the  whole  table  listened, 
bowing  their  ears  in  respect  for  the  man,  or  cowering 
with  fear  of  the  subject,  while  he  called  to  the  trem 
bling  mastery  of  the  assembled  minds  those  severe  and 
commanding  thoughts  which,  when  they  do  come,  seem 
to  stalk  forth,  as  it  were,  like  majestic  ghosts  from  the 
recondite  shades  of  metaphysical  speculation.  And 
particularly  did  he  commence  to  refresh  himself  by  in 
viting  from  the  dwelling-place  of  the  unknown,  through 
the  chaste  corridors  of  his  idiosyncrasy,  those  noble  ty 
rants  of  speculation,  the  conceptions  of  the  cause,  the 
absolute,  and  the.  infinite. 

"  The  cause  as  such,"  said  the  attenuated  gentleman, 
with  an  inspired  air,  and  looking  sternly  at  Mr.  Pith- 
kin,  in  order  to  collect  himself,  "  exists  only  in  relation 
to  its  effect — the  effect  being  an  effect  of  the  cause.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  absolute  implies  a  possible  existence 
eternally  out  of  all  relation,  though  it  may  paradoxi 
cally  be  said  that  it  exists  first  by  itself,  and  afterwards 
becomes  a  cause.  But  here  we  are  checked  by  the 
mysterious  elements  of  the  infinite,  which  are  contained 
in  it,  and  I  ask :  How  can  the  infinite  become  that 
which  it  was  not  from  the  first  ?  " 

"  You  have  me  there,"  said  Mr.  Pithkin,  under  the  im 
pression  that  the  doctor  directed  his  remarks  towards  him. 

"  If  causation^'  continued  the  doctor,  as  if  in  rapt 
inspiration,  "  is  a  possible  mode  of  existence,  (this  prop 
osition  the  exercised  Pithkin  assented  to  with  alacrity,) 
then  that  which  exists  without  causing  is  not  infinite  ; 
that  which  becomes  a  cause  has  passed  beyond  its  for 
mer  limits.  But  a  limit  is  itself  a  relation,  and  to  con 
ceive  a  limit  as  such,  is  virtually  to  acknowledge  the 


DINAH.  69 

existence  of  a  correlative  on  the  other  side  of  it."  In 
this  pleasant  manner  did  a  great  metaphysical  contest 
of  thoughts  take  place,  which  resulted,  as  usual,  in  all 
the  ideas  being  left  dead  upon  the  field. 

"  I  don't  know — I  can't  say,"  said  Mr.  Pithkin, 
feeling  it  absolutely  necessary  to  say  something  in  re 
ply,  "  that  is — if  you  should — do  you  know,  (bursting,) 
it  isn't  peculiar  to  me,  perhaps,  but  somehow  or  other 
I  am  generally  at  a  loss  to  express  myself  when  I  haven't 
any  thing  to  say." 

"  You  say  you  can't  express  yourself,"  said  Laura's 
father,  eagerly  jumping  at  the  opportunity,  as  Pithkin 
paused,  "  you  said  you  couldn't  express  yourself,  I  be 
lieve.  "Well,  that  reminds  me  of  a  man  once,  who — " 

"  But  he  didn't  say  so,"  exclaimed  Nat,  violently ; 
"  he  didn't  say  he  couldn't  express  himself." 

"  "Well,  perhaps  he  didn't,"  said  the  old  gentleman, 
hanging  on  persistently,  "  but  anyhow,  it  reminds  me  of 
a  wealthy  man  once  in  New  York,  who  never  went  out 
of  his  house  but  once  in  twenty  years.  It  ha$  cost  him 
so  much,  he  was  obliged  to  stay  continually  in  it,  in 
order  to  make  it  pay.  "Well,  that  once,  when  he 
emerged  from  his  domicile,  finding  himself  expressed,  as 
it  were,  across  the  threshold  by  the  toe  of  his  brother's 
boot,  he  turned  for  one  startled  moment,  and  said : 
'  'Tis  well !  I  now  feel  my  end  to  be  ' — that,  is,  he  said 
— I  feel — dear  me,  let  me  see — I  think  he — " 

"  Heavens  !  "  said  Nat,  "  I  say,  the  ladies  are  going 
to  the  parlor." 

The  ladies  had  risen  and  were  immediately  followed 
by  Mr.  Pithkin,  Dr.  Fufiies,  (who  accompanied  his  an 
cient  flame,  Charles's  mother,  with  downcast  eyes,)  and 
one  or  two  others.  Pithkin,  having  been  distracted  be- 


70  DINAH. 

tween  his  desire  to  stay  at  the  table,  and  to  pay  a  slight 
homage  to  the  maiden  aunt — Bacchus  pulling  on  one 
side,  and  Yenus  on  the  other — had  resolved  to  go,  hav 
ing  previously  promised  the  old  gentleman  (in  whose 
story  he  had  exhibited  extraordinary  symptoms  of  being 
interested)  that  he  would  return  as  soon  as  the  fair  lady 
would  permit  him.  But  unfortunately,  after  the  coffee, 
being  filled  with  poetic  desires,  she  commanded  him  to 
attend  her  on  a  walk  in  the  wooded  avenue.  A  fine 
air  was  being  played  by  a  young  girl  in  the  saloon. 

"  Mysterious  odors,"  said  the  aunt,  overcome  with 
her  poetic  feelings  and  the  fragrance  of  the  summer 
night,  as  they  walked  along,  "  from  heavenly  depths 
are  wafted  in  the  evening  air." 

Pithkin  murmured  something  about  having  taken 
cold,  and  being  unable  to  smell  any  thing. 

"  In  the  vortex  of  human  passions,  Mr.  Pithkin,  we, 
wretched,  gasping  creatures,  vainly  grasp  at  the  fragile 
waifs  that  are  whirling  in  the  fearful  maelstrom,"  con 
tinued  the  poetic  being. 

"  Ma'am  ?  "  said  Pithkin.  He  eyed  her  suspiciously. 
He  didn't  know  but  what  she  intended  to  faint,  or  ask 
him  to  support  her,  or  do  something  of  that  sort.  How 
ever,  as  she  confined  herself  to  the  poetic  exaggerations 
of  speech  merely,  until  they  reached  a  summer-house 
near  the  western  wall  of  the  park,  he  became  reassured, 
and  concluded  it  to  be  safe  to  comply  with  her  request 
and  sit  down  by  her  there.  Night  was  closing  down — 
the  evening  star  was  glistening  in  the  west,  and  a  little 
crescent  piece  of  the  moon  was  casting  a  small  light 
over  the  trees.  A  faint  sound  of  music  from  the  house 
committed  burglary  on  their  attention. 

"  "What  Protean  shapes,"  said  the  languishing  lady, 


DINAH.  Tl 

reverting  to  the  dinner-table,  "  does  the  human  intelli 
gence  assume  ;  now  the  bright,  gay,  gleaming,  falchion 
of  wit,  now  the  ponderous,  massive,  battering-ram  of 
reason." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Pithkin,  "  and  I  think  wit  is  pref 
erable  to  reason,  but  it  is  more  difficult.  Do  you 
know,  I  am  continually  inventing  smart  sayings ;  but, 
somehow,  they  are  not  appropriate  to  the  occasion." 

At  this  moment  a  rustle  was  heard  in  the  imme 
diate  vicinity  behind  the  summer-house.  In  the  gloomy 
shade  of  night,  they  saw  the  indistinct  form  of  a  stranger 
standing  perfectly  still,  and  looking  severely  at  them. 

"  Oh  dear — what  is  that — that  strange  " — exclaimed 
the  maiden,  timidly. 

Pithkin  was  so  much  overcome  with  his  own  appre 
hensions  at  this  apparition,  that  he  had  no  leisure  to 
attempt  to  dissipate  hers.  With  a  sacred  care  of  per 
sonal  interest,  in  fact,  he  was  about  to  take  refuge  in 
flight  to  the  house,  when  the  singular  cause  of  his  fears 
suddenly  disapeared. 

"  Ha  !  ha  !  stealing  fruit,"  said  Pithkiu,  with  leonine 
boldness  at  this  juncture.  "  He's  leaped  over  the  wall. 
He  thought  to  intimidate  us  by  looking  severely  at  me 
— the  poor  devil — actually  thought  to  intimidate  us  !  " 

"  But  did  you  remark  his  splendid  nose,  Mr.  Pith- 
kin  ?  He  has  got  the  nose  of  a  gentleman  I  once  knew 
— Heaven,  is  it  the — Pshaw — no — " 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  he's  got  somebody  else's 
nose  ? " 

"  Yes !  "While,  all  around  it,  his  other  features 
seemed  to  be  the  gloomy  home  of  dark  and  fearful 
passions,  it  seemed  to  me  to  have  a  noble,  tranquil 
expression." 


72  DINAH. 

"  Yes,  like  a  small  mountain  in  quiet  grandeur. 
It  is  a  wonder  it  wasn't  sinister  too,  it  had  got  into 
such  bad  company.  It  was  rather  laughable,  his  at 
tempting  to  intimidate. us,  wasn't  it  ?  Ha !  ha !  " 

"  Oh  dear  !  " 

"  Wha— what's  the  matter  ?  " 

"  He's  coming  back." 

"  Gods  of  heaven !  the  proprietor  of  the  nose  ?  " 
exclaimed  Pithkin.  Through  the  trees  in  the  dusk,  he 
turned  his  dismayed  vision,  and  beheld  the  singular 
stranger  leaning  up  coolly  against  the  iron  railing  of 
the  park  on  the  road,  as  though  he  lingered  to  finish 
some  improper  mission,  which  had  brought  him  first 
within  the  park. 

"  "Wha — what  if  he  should  attempt  to  knock  us 
down  and  rob  us  ?  We  are  away  from  the  house,"  said 
the  panic-stricken  Pithkin.  "  Oh,  dear  !  He  has  been 
watching  for  us  !  Oh  Lord  !  my  legs  refuse  to  do  their 
duty.  Shout  for  help  !  Help  !  "  cried  he,  faintly. 

"  Never  mind.  Oh,  dear  !  He's  gone  again.  I'm 
so  thankful.  He  has  disappeared  again." 

"  Eh  ?     Lord  bless  me !     So  he  has !  " 

"  Oh,  what  a  narrow  escape !  " 

"  Ha !  Yes,  a  narrow  escape  he  has  had,  in 
deed,"  continued  the  valorous  Pithkin,  with  a  frightful 
air.  "  As  it  is,  I've  a  great  mind  to  run  after  him,  and 
catch  the  rascal." 

"  Oh,  no  !  I  know  your  ardent  love  of  justice,  Mr. 
Pithkin,  but  don't — don't  expose  yourself  in  its  cause  ; 
I  pray  you  don't,  for  my  sake." 

Pithkin  concluded  on  the  whole  he  wouldn't  for  his 
own,  and  further  accepted  with  alacrity  the  proposition 
of  the  lady,  to  return  at  once  to  the  house.  They 


DINAH.  73 

reached  the  saloon  in  safety,  Pithldn  now  and  then 
blenching  slightly  at  indistinct  objects  on  the  path. 
On  arriving  at  the  house,  he  felt  quite  sorry  that  he 
hadn't  chased  the  rascal,  knocked  him  down,  and 
brought  him  in,  tied  hand  and  foot.  They  found  the 
dance  in  progress.  The  young  lawyer,  Nat,  was  seated 
in  a  window,  with  a  ferocious  expression  on  his  counte 
nance,  and  Charles  was  floating  in  a  waltz  with  Laura, 
with  a  strange  feeling  in  his  head,  the  result  of  accu 
mulated  rotation,  while  the  young  lady  herself  with  a 
bright,  gay  air  was  now  and  then  glancing  at  the  un 
happy  lawyer  as  she  turned.  "  Think  of  his  audacity 
and  familiarity  with  me,  as  if  he  had  known  me  four 
teen  years  and  a  day,"  said  she  to  herself.  "  I  have 
danced  with  him  five  times  already,  and  he  wants  to 
come  and  ask  me  again.  I  just  wish  he  would  do  it." 

Nat,  while  laboring  under  an  intense  desire  to 
punch  somebody's  head,  was  entertaining  the  father 
of  his  hope,  by  listening  in  wretched  desperation  to 
another  intricate  anecdote,  which  the  latter  was  pro 
ceeding  to  unfold  at  leisure. 

"  Oh,  such  a  singular  adventure,"  said  the  fair  spin 
ster,  rushing  up  and  relieving  the  distracted  lawyer. 
"  Oh,  such  an  adventure  ;  indeed,  a  narrow  escape  from 
the  jeopardizing  purposes — yes — of  some  lawless  per 
son.  Do  you  know,  in  walking  with  Mr.  Pithkin  to 
breathe  the  refreshing  air,  we  had  reached  the  end  of 
the  park,  when  I  cast  my  eyes  about  me  and  discovered, 
in  the  foliage  near  me,  a  sight  which  made  my  blood 
curdle — I  saw  a  young  man — " 

"  Singular  effect  which  youth  has  upon  the  imagin 
ative  female,"  murmured  Pithkin ;  and  the  fair  enslaver 
continued  to  embellish  the  adventure.    She  had  reached 
4 


74:  DINAH. 

the  point  where  she  said  "  he  had  overskipped  the  wall 
with  one  bound,  encroaching  in  his  sky-rockety  tran- 
silience  upon  the  bright  ray  of  the  star  which  hung 
down  lowest,"  when  the  inevitable  parent  of  Laura  was 
unfortunately  struck  with  its  resemblance  to  another 
occurrence  he  had  once  heard  of — "  It  reminds  me  of 
two  young  miners  in  California,"  commenced  he,  pre 
cipitately,  "  surrounded  in  their  lonely  cabin  with 
bears.  One  of  them  was  so  overcome  with  his  fears 
that  he  temporarily  lost  his  reason,  and  expressed  it  as 
his  opinion  that  the  only  way  that  they  could  save 
themselves  was  to  take  their  razors,  and  by  a  close 
shave  they  might  do  it.  In  the  mean  time  the  bears 
had  got  into  the  kitchen,  and  one  of  them  was  carrying 
off  the  cooking  stove,  another  singular  circumstance, 
when  the  courageous  miner  in  a  moment  of  great  ex 
asperation — in  a  moment — he — let  me  see — he — " 

Mr.  Pithkin  had  cast  his  eyes  accidentally  upon  the 
portrait  of  the  old  pioneer.  "  Gods  of  heaven  !  what — 
see  you  not  a  resemblance?"  he  suddenly  ejaculated — 
"  Was  it—" 

The  spinster  interrupted  him  with  pettish  quickness, 
and  taking  him  by  the  arm  walked  away,  followed 
closely  by  Nat,  who  in  desperation  took  this  chance  of 
evading  the  two  miners.  Charles  still  lingered  in  the 
reflecting  position  in  which  he  had  heard  the  occur 
rence  related  by  his  aunt. 

"  I  don't  want  him  for  a  son-in-law,"  said  the  old 
gentleman,  looking  at  him  after  floundering  a  while. 
"  He  listens  with  such  confounded  attention  he  puts  me 
out.  I'll  go  find  Nat  again." 


DINAH.  75 


CHAPTER   XII. 

IT NK  E  S  T. 

THE  ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  next  morning,  pro 
jected  a  drive  to  a  secluded  wood  in  the  vicinity,  called 
the  Dark  Woods,  the  depths  of  which  were  celebrated 
in  the  traditions  of  the  neighborhood  as  having  once 
constituted  a  favorite  council-chamber  of  the  aboriginal 
tribe  which  occupied  this  region.  It  was  represented 
that  one  charmed  and  romantic  spot,  in  particular,  was 
still  haunted  by  their  spirits  in  solemn  assemblage  on 
still  summer  days,  and  that  this  Indian  senate-house 
was  still  guarded  with  sacred  jealousy  by  those  ghostly 
people,  from  the  intrusion  of  earthly  feet.  People  who 
thought  of  going  there  were  continually  losing  their 
way,  or  were  prevented  by  other  and  more  mysterious 
accidents  and  obstacles  from  accomplishing  their  ob 
ject.  Persistent  mortals,  in  a  few  instances,  had  found 
their  way  thither ;  but  even  on  these  occasions  they  were 
immediately  driven  away  by  insects  in  the  form  of  mus- 
quitoes,  whose  supernatural  size  and  unearthly  power 
led  them  at  once  to  believe  that  their  presence  was  con 
sidered,  and  thus  resented,  as  an  intrusion.  The  party 
then  derived  its  principal  interest  from  the  fact  of  their 
making  the  essay  to  visit  this  place. 

While  they  were  awaiting,  in  groups,  the  disposition 
of  the  equipages,  the  aunt  said  to  Dinah,  "  should  Mr. 
Charles  soon  return,  inform  him  of  the  picnic,  girl. 
Perhaps  he  will  come.  Oh  dear,  by  the  way,  does  he 
know  the  road,  I  wonder,  to  be  sure !  It  is  very  in- 


76  DINAH. 

tricate.  Let  me  see.  First  we  went  along  the  country 
road,  and  then  I  remember  we  passed  a  stage-coach, 
just  beyond  which,  we  turned  off  upon  a  branch  road, 
leading  down  that  way  (gesture)  from  the  same  side  of 
the  main  road  which  we  were  on — the  stage-coach  be 
ing  on  the  other  side — yes — yes — you  give  him  the 'direc 
tions,  Dinah.  Oh  what  a  romantic  place  it  was,"  con 
tinued  she,  addressing  a  young  exquisite.  "  I  remarked 
to  Mr.  Pithkin,  who  was  driving  my  buggy,  it  was  such 
a  relief  to  the  artistic  eye,  that  no  more  infants  were  to 
be  seen  making  dirt  pies  as  on  the  high  road,  and  he 
replied,  he  thought  so  too,  alluding  further  to  the  fact 
that  they  had  thrown  stones  at  us  in  a  very  disagreeable 
manner,  you  know,  and  with  considerable  force,  indeed. 
While  progressing  through  this  romantic  scene,  and 
enjoying  the  exquisite  emotions  which  it  produced,  we 
came  to  a  small  and  dark-flowing  rivulet,  when  a  singu 
lar  and  dangerous  obstacle  met  our  vision,  could  you 
think  it  ?  Indeed,  the  sudden  revolution  which  it  caused 
in  my  feelings  will  never  be  obliterated  from  my  fade 
less  memory.  On  the  rustic  bridge  which  crossed  the 
stream  amid  the  dark  still  scenery,  there  was  standing 
a  gigantic  and  solitary  animal  of  the  bull  species  in  an 
apparently  infuriated  condition.  At  first  he  shook  his 
horns  violently,  and  accompanied  those  motions  with 
low,  sinister  rumblings;  but  as  we  approached,  how 
ever,  a  singular  change  came  over  him,  indeed.  He 
became  suddenly  quiet,  and  the  occupation  of  staring 
at  us  in  a  dull,  steady  manner  appeared  at  once  to  have 
absorbed  all  his  faculties.  I  was  about  remarking  to 
Mr.  Pithkin  that  it  was  certainly  singular,  when  turn 
ing  very  pale,  he  hastily  exclaimed,  '  Oh  dear !  he's 
shutting  his  eyes.  He  is  going  to  make  a  rush.'  For- 


DINAH.  77 

tune  favored  us.  We  had  just  time  to  turn  around 
when  it  took  place.  He  chased  us  for  over  a  quarter  of 
a  mile,  with  fearful  snorts,  and  with  his  tail  curled  on 
high  in  a  singular  manner,  like  a  corkscrew,  for  instance, 
and  we  were  momentarily  expecting  to  be  dashed  in 
pieces  by  the  infuriated  animal,  until  he  suddenly  dis 
appeared.  JVTr.  Pithkin  said  it  was  a  narrow  escape 
from  a  gloomy  extinguishment.  He  was  so  overcome, 
that  he  ate  up  all  the  luncheon,  and  drank  up  all  the 
wine,  before  his  spirits  were  restored,  and  as  that  was 
the  chief  enjoyment  he  expected  from  our  visit,  we 
concluded  to  go  back."  (Sensation  on  the  part  of  her 
listener.  "  Haw !  by  Jove,  haw !  ") 

The  party,  after  an  intricate  winding,  in  which  Na 
thaniel  Bonney,  who  had  been  constituted  the  guide, 
led  them  off  eleven  times  in  a  wrong  direction,  finally 
concluded  to  rest  under  the  shade  of  some  lofty  trees 
near  a  milestone  on  an  old  deserted  road,  which  ran 
along  by  the  dark  forest.  Here  it  was  recommended 
they  should  refresh  themselves  with  luncheon,  Laura 
having  proposed,  however,  that  their  leader,  whose  en 
thusiasm  respecting  the  discovery  of  the  place,  she  re 
marked  would  make  up  for  his  want  of  knowledge 
respecting  its  locality,  should  occupy  a  previous  half- 
hour  in  essaying  the  discovery  of  the  romantic  council- 
chamber,  by  penetrating  the  wood  on  foot.  ISTat,  having 
a  presentiment,  suggested  that  they  should  eat  the  lunch 
first.  In  the  ardor  of  the  morning,  he  had  forgotten 
his  breakfast,  and  even  now,  in  spite  of  love,  experienced 
the  cravings  of  hunger  ;  but  as  Laura  appeared  to  dis 
countenance  the  proposition  in  a  somewhat  severe  man 
ner,  he  proceeded  immediately  to  take  the  most  expe 
ditious  method  he  knew  of  to  find  the  place,  by  losingJ 


78  DINAH. 

himself  at  once  in  the  wood  with  a  resigned  air.  In 
less  than  ten  minutes  after  he  had  set  out,  he  became 
entangled  in  such  a  wonderful  and  complicated  maze 
of  verdant  tangled  wilds,  that  even  at  this  early  stage 
of  his  search,  the  chances  of  ever  extricating  himself 
suggested  themselves  to  his  mind  as  exceedingly  atten 
uated,  and  the  farther  he  went  the  more  confused  he 
became. 

After  half  an  hour  had  elapsed,  he  at  last  encoun 
tered  a  cow-path,  which  led  in  an  extraordinary  and 
bewildering  manner  nowhere — that  is,  he  was  aston 
ished  to  discover  that  by  following  its  tortuous  course, 
he  was  continually  arriving  at  the  same  singular  spot. 
The  pangs  of  appetite  were  now  beginning  to  mani 
fest  themselves  in  an  unpleasant  way,  and  he  en 
deavored,  as  he  continued  desperately  to  career  in  the 
charmed  circle,  to  fill  up  by  dint  of  intellectual  en 
joyment  the  void  which  began  to  make  itself  felt  in 
the  flesh.  Amusing  speculations,  for  instance,  upon 
the  power  of  the  human  organization  to  exist  without 
food,  suggested  themselves  to  his  mind,  and  he  recalled 
with  an  indefinite  feeling  of  satisfaction  at  this  point, 
several  notable  shipwrecks  on  desert  coasts,  in  which 
that  power  had  been  assisted  in  an  extraordinary  man 
ner,  by  the  judicious  use  of  buttons  and  berries. 

Before  he  had  reached  this  mysterious  spot,  he  had 
endeavored  to  convey  intelligence  of  his  situation  to 
his  party  or  arrest  the  attention  of  any  one  within  hear 
ing,  as  simple  holloing  did  not  appear  to  do  it,  by  or 
ganizing  an  ingenious  system  of  sounds,  calculated  by 
their  peculiarity  to  attract  observation ;  such,  for  in 
stance,  as  groaning  in  one  direction,  snorting  up 
another,  sneezing  up  another,  &c.  But  all  was  silent. 


DINAH.  79 

with  the  exception  of  the  sounds  of  nature,  and  time 
was  rapidly  wearing  away.  He  sat  down  under  a 
blackberry  bush,  and  under  the  influence  of  his  appe 
tite  commenced  deliberately  to  dine.  He  had  reached 
the  dessert,  which  consisted,  as  usual  at  that  season  of 
the  year,  of  blackberries,  when  he  heard  voices.  His 
party  had  instituted  a  search  for  him  ?  ISTo.  The 
voices  were  low  and  strange,  and  came  he  knew  not 
from  where.  "Was  he  near  the  charmed  spot  in  which 
the  ghostly  Indians  were  holding  their  noonday  coun 
cil  ?  There  seemed  to  be  a  dull  cadenced  interlocution 
of  voices,  which  he  fancied  to  be  the  distant  argument 
ation  of  the  chiefs,  while  he  thought  he  could  hear  the 
steady  murmur  of  approval  from  the  ghostly  crew. 
Perhaps  the  latter,  however,  was  nothing  more  than 
the  sound  of  the  blue-bottles  buzzing  in  the  shade. 
By  and  by  stillness  reigned.  Gracious,  what  was  that  ? 
In  the  gauzy  distance  under  the  trees  he  saw  two  heads 
gliding  along  at  first  in  Indian  file,  and  then  in  silent 
divergence.  He  had  barely  time  to  conceal,  from  in 
stinctive  motives,  his  somewhat  excited  being  in  the 
thicket  which  formed  the  sides  of  the  little  hall  through 
which  the  path  ran,  when  a  tall,  lithe  young  man  of 
extraordinary,  wonderful  beauty,  yet  half-attired  in  torn 
and  earth-stained  linen,  passed  by  him,  brushing  his 
way  through  the  thicket.  On  his  countenance  were 
marked  the  lines  of  melancholy  and  dissipation,  but  in 
his  eyes,  though  beneath  a  still  and  fixed  gaze,  the  fire 
of  a  wildness  was  burning  with  a  deep  lustre. 

"  Come,  oh  come  to  me  from  your  grave  !  These 
woods  are  ours !  "  muttered  he,  as  he  passed  the  aston 
ished  !N"at,  who  crouched  impulsively.  On  his  hand, 
which  he  held,  in  a  mechanical  manner,  to  his  bare  breast, 


80  DINAH. 

was  a  wound,  and  upon  his  breast  also,  by  his  hand, 
another  bleeding  wound,  as  if  freshly  made  in  passing 
the  thick  branches  of  the  way  in  which  he  came.  "  Oh, 
can  you  come  no  more  ?  Yes,  yes.  In  her  dear  love  you 
live.  With  her  dear  love  shall  I  be  saved !" 

!N"at,  in  his  confusion,  allowed  him  to  disappear  in 
the  thick  wood,  and  the  noise  of  his  receding  he  had 
hardly  noticed,  or  it  had  died  away  ere  he  had  recov 
ered  from  his  astonishment  at  this  singular  interruption 
of  the  still  hour.  Curiosity,  however,  soon  took  its 
place  in  his  bosom,  and  he  commenced  to  pursue  rap 
idly  the  direction  which  the  mysterious  stranger  had 
taken.  "  Some  extraordinary  loafers  loafing  extraordi 
narily  !  This  one  looks  like  an  escaped  bedlamite.  I 
will  find  out,  if  I  can  catch  him."  But,  unfortunately, 
he  became  once  more  entangled  again  in  a  series  of 
most  extraordinary  and  inextricable  labyrinths  of  thorns 
and  branches. 

It  was  late  in  the  evening  when  he  emerged  mourn 
fully  upon  the  road  in  his  drawers,  and  he  felt,  at  least, 
a  firm  conviction  that  whatever  supernatural  power 
reigned  in  that  gloomy  thicket,  it  was  exorbitantly 
jealous  of  the  approach  of  human  beings. 

On  observing  that  the  absence  of  the  young  lawyer 
was  seriously  prolonged,  the  ladies,  at  the  suggestion  of 
Laura,  joined  together  in  commanding  a  search  by  the 
rest  of  the  gentlemen,  who  immediately  obeyed.  They 
all  succeeded  in  coming  in,  to  be  sure,  within  two  or 
three  days,  in  a  straggling  manner,  representing  them 
selves  to  have  been  pretty  busy  during  that  period  in 
thrashing  about  in  the  wilderness.  There  was  one  ex 
ception,  however — the  exquisite  from  New  York,  who 
had  not  been  educated  to  such  matters.  He  was  never 


DINAH.  81 

heard  of.  Some  time  afterwards,  indeed,  it  was  repre 
sented  that  he  was  seen  in  the  metropolis  in  a  state  of 
great  disgust  whenever  the  romantic  wilds  of  the  coun 
try  were  mentioned ;  but  the  rumor,  as  a  fact,  was  not 
considered  reliable.  The  result  of  this  forest  visit,  then, 
was  that  the  ladies  rode  home  alone. 

Charles  did  not  return  from  his  solitary  ride  until 
after  noon,  for  he  had  purposely  avoided  the  picnic. 
As  he  walked  up  on  the  terrace  and  towards  the  saloon, 
he  heard  the  bronze  clock  with  its  angels  ticking  upon 
the  mantel-piece.  A  low,  gentle  song  from  female  lips, 
was  also  marking,  with  its  measured  beats,  the  flying 
time.  He  stole  rapidly  to  a  window,  and,  concealed  by 
the  curtain,  looked  within.  The  song  had  stopped,  and 
its  maker,  the  young  girl  Diana,  was  idling  about  in 
the  airy  room  with  indecisive  steps.  By  and  by,  she 
sank  down  into  the  cushions  of  a  sofa  with  the  graceful, 
yet  awkward  jump  which  girls  who  are  not  done  grow 
ing,  are  likely  to  make.  Here,  after  a  few  apparent 
moments  of  meditation  and  abstraction,  he  saw  her  take 
from  her  bosom  a  worn  and  common-looking  miniature, 
and  at  that  moment  he  was  struck  by  the  singular  look 
which  quickly  passed  over  her  countenance.  The 
locket,  by  some  eccentric  law  of  association,  had,  per 
haps,  brought  up  in  her  mind  for  the  moment  the  in 
stinctive  appreciation  of  her  own  unhappy  condition, 
accompanied,  probably,  with  the  usual  inimical  bitter 
ness  which  natures,  no  matter  how  young,  when  steeped 
in  poverty  or  degradation,  feel  towards  the  laws  of  so 
ciety,  which,  they  think,  flrst  cause  that  poverty  or 
degradation,  and  then  punish  it.  However,  it  seemed 
so  peculiar,  that  it  brought  out  in  the  young  man's 
mind,  for  the  instant,  the  romantic  fancy  that  some  an- 
4* 


82  DINAH. 

cestor  of  her's,  hundreds  of  years  ago,  had  suffered  so 
much  as  to  bequeath  to  his  posterity  an  unfailing  liabil 
ity  to  those  lines  of  anguish. 

She  looked  again  at  the  locket,  however,  with  appar 
ently  about  as  much  interest  as  one  would  who  was  esti 
mating  its  value,  and,  although  the  reflection  may  have 
been  wrong  which  he  was  induced  to  make,  in  the  va 
cancy  of  the  moment  upon  this  action,  and  upon  the 
mechanical  manner  in  which  she  conveyed  it  to  her  lips, 
he,  nevertheless,  would  have  derived  no  other  impres 
sion  from  the  whole,  than  that  her  nature  was  one  of 
those  which  are  undemonstrative  in  their  tendencies, 
even  had  he  observed  the  tear  which  dropped  and  glis 
tened  upon  the  locket,  as  she  placed  it  again  in  her 
bosom.  Casting  his  eyes  fortuitously  upon  the  broad 
mirror  above  the  mantel-piece,  he  observed  the  eyes  of 
the  image  of  the  girl  resting  directly  upon  him  in  an 
unconcerned  glance.  This  immediately  induced  him  to 
reflect  that  she  had  been  aware  of  his  propinquity  all 
the  while,  and,  with  that  sentimental  artifice  to  which 
young  girls  are  naturally  prone,  had  thus  affected  a  del 
icate  show  of  private  emotion  in  his  concealed  presence 
for  the  sake  of  creating  a  favorable  impression. 

Although  somewhat  disconcerted  with  the  thought 
that  he  had  been  discovered  in  an  equivocal  position,  he 
was  still  pleased  with  the  consciousness  which  these 
rapid  reflections  and  the  contemplation  of  the  position 
of  their  object  afforded  him — that  his  mind  was  be 
ginning  once  more  to  search  in  its  old  natural  way 
of  simple  philosophical  interest,  for  the  springs  of 
human  action.  The  girl  rose  and  gave  him  a  pro 
found  bow  as  he  entered  the  window,  and  he  was 
forced  to  notice  immediately  its  peculiar  grace.  What- 


DINAH.  83 

ever  was  inherently  betrayed  in  it,  it  seemed  further  to 
be  characterized  both  by  the  grace  of  childhood,  and 
rthe  dignity  of  womanhood,  as  if  it  were  an  indication 
'that  the  soul  within,  in  its  transition  from  one  of  these 
epochs  to  the  other,  was  retaining  the  good  of  the  past, 
while  it  usurped  that  of  the  future. 

"  You  were  singing,"  said  Charles,  as  the  girl  hesi 
tated  to  leave  the  room  ;  "  can  you  play  the  piano  and 
accompany  your  voice  ?  " 

"  No !  when  I  sing,  I  usually  accompany  myself 
with  a  broomstick,"  said  she,  with  a  laugh. 

"  You  scorn  accomplishments,  do  you  ? "  said 
Charles,  forgetting  her  antecedents. 

"  Oh,  no  !  If  I  had  known  how  to  play  the  piano 
well,  I  would  not  have  answered  you  as  I  did." 

Her  true  position  struck  him  here,  and  he  asked 
himself  what  she  would  have  been,  had  she  been 
brought  up  with  all  the  advantages  of  the  higher  classes 
of  society.  Without  doubt,  like  all  the  rest  of  her  sex 
moving  therein,  she  would  have  not  only  entertained  a 
supercilious  contempt  for  the  plodding  duties  of  domes 
tic  life,  but,  like  the  rest  of  them,  she  would  have  put 
off  the  uses  of  her  intellectual  abilities  too,  and,  falling 
into  the  aristocratic  female's  habit,  (which  has  become 
a  fixed  system  of  nattering  the  understanding  of  the 
other  sex,  by  carefully  avoiding  the  use  of  her  own,) 
would  have  soon  reached  the  much-desired  position  of 
plaything.  "Women  forget  that  those  are  men  unde 
serving  of  the  name,  who  are  under  the  necessity  of 
listening  to  such  a  concession. 

"  As  you  really  don't  know  any  thing  about  these 
accomplishments,  you  were  certainly  wise  enough  in 
affecting  humility,"  continued  he  jocosely. 


84:  DINAH. 

"  The  wise  way  of  affecting  humility  is  to  acknowl 
edge  deficiency  in  something  which  we  are  rather  no 
torious  for  possessing,  isn't  it  ?  " 

"  Then  you  mean  to  say  you  are  a  master  of  music 
already !  another  St.  Cecilia  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no  !  I  was  only  showing  that,  while  I  have 
the  vice  of  affecting  humility,  I  have  not  even  the  usual 
wisdom  which  accompanies  it." 

"  But  you  know  how  to  dance  well  ? "  The  graceful 
way  in  which  she  sat  still  had  discovered  that  to  him. 

"  No ;  but  oh,  sir,  I  am  so  delighted  to  see  the 
dance !  "  said  the  girl,  in  vivacious  forgetfulness. 

"  Your  education  has  been  neg — "  said  Charles,  "  I 
beg  your  pardon ;  I  didn't  mean  to — "  He  reflected 
that  he  had  again  forgotten  entirely  her  position  and 
antecedents  in  talking  with  her. 

"  Oh,  sir,"  said  she,  interrupting  his  thought  ere  it 
was  half  expressed,  "  you  have  done  me  honor  in  think 
ing  I  might  worthily  bear  these  accomplishments,  while 
you  forget  they  were  debarred  from  me." 

At  this  point,  the  clatter  of  the  horses'  hoofs  and  the 
roll  of  the  carriages  were  heard — the  party  were  coming 
up  the  avenue  on  their  return.  The  mother  noticed 
that  Charles  had  already  returned  from  his  visit  to  Dr. 
Funies,  and  Laura,  with  a  soft  air,  found  fault  with  him 
for  not  having  come  to  the  greenwood. 


DINAH.  85 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 

OHAEACTERISTICS. 

SOME  time  after  the  party  had  left,  the  house  was 
again  enlivened  by  the  arrival  of  two  friends,  a  Southern 
gentleman  and  his  wife,  accompanied  by  seven  colored 
servants,  who,  by  the  way,  were  continually  quarrelling 
upon  the  proper  partition  of  their  duties.  If  two,  for 
instance,  were  engaged  in  lifting  a  trunk,  one  of  them, 
feeling  aggrieved  at  the  manner  in  which  the  other 
managed  his  end,  would  deposit  his,  and  relieve  his 
feelings  at  once  by  kicking  him.  However  much  they 
thus  contended  with  each  other  upon  the  particular 
offices  to  which  destiny  had  elected  them,  upon  the  exe 
cution  of  the  same  there  was  an  evident  unanimity,  and 
they  all  were  harmoniously  agreed  to  maintain  the  dig 
nity  of  labor  in  a  practical  way,  by  as  little  familiarity 
with  it  as  possible. 

Colonel  Norcomb  was  a  gentleman  of  leisure,  not 
likely  to  be  particularly  addicted  to  stupendous  ambi 
tions  of  a  worldly  nature,  and  his  contemplation  of  the 
future  had  reference  chiefly  to  the  hope  that  his  own 
name  and  the  virtues  of  his  wife  would  be  handed  down 
to  posterity.  At  present,  however,  his  wife  was  his 
child,  and  all  his  thoughts  were  wrapped  up  in  her 
being.  He  bought  horses  for  her,  he  travelled  with  her, 
and  he  carried  around  the  dark  retinue  for  her,  (with 
the  sinister  hope  they  would  take  an  opportunity  to  run 
away,  however.)  In  the  natural  tendency  of  this  affec 
tion  as  his  chief  occupation,  he  had  lately  been  seized 
with  a  ridiculous  desire  to  exploit  certain  brilliant  re- 


86  DINAH. 

finernents  thereon,  suggested  to  him  by  some  wretched 
but  ingenious  French  novels  he  had  been  reading,  in 
which,  for  instance,  extraneous  flirtations  were  recom 
mended  to  the  married  individual,  as  productive  of 
opportunities  for  an  exquisite  reconciliation  with  him 
self,  or  information  given  with  strict  injunctions  of  se 
crecy  to  friends,  of  the  jealousy  of  one's  wife  or  hus 
band,  as  leading,  ultimately,  to  the  pleasant  possibility 
of  believing  it  one's  self. 

As  for  the  smiling  wife,  her  time  was  principally 
occupied  in  laughing  at  him,  in  shielding  with  her  gen 
tle  disposition  the  lazy  darkies  from  punishment,  and 
in  taking  violent  fancies  to  young  girls.  In  reference 
to  the  latter,  she  had  not  been  in  the  house  ten  minutes 
before  she  began  to  inquire  for  one,  and  her  husband, 
having  duly  considered  the  facilities  which  the  estab 
lishment  afforded,  immediately  brought  in  the  maiden 
aunt.  The  young  lady,  however,  in  a  weak  voice, 
quickly  ordered  her  to  be  taken  away  again,  and  her 
affection  fell  finally  on  the  girl  Dinah,  as  there  was  no 
more  proper  recipient  thereof  in  the  house.  The  girl 
stood  her  martyrdom  with  unflinching  firmness,  and, 
notwithstanding  she  was  violently  kissed  forty  times 
a  day,  freely  forgave  all  the  assaults  which  were  made 
upon  her. 

Charles's  mother  and  the  colonel's  wife  having  gone 
out  to  drive  one  day,  (the  latter  insisting,  as  usual,  upon 
taking  the  object  of  her  immediate  affection  with  her,) 
her  husband  cast  about  him,  in  an  idle  manner,  for 
something  to  do. 

"  Where  did  you  say  that  girl  came  from  ?  "  said 
he,  turning  to  the  maiden  aunt,  as  they  stood  to 
gether  in  the  library ;  "  my  wife  thinks,  at  present,  that 


DINAH.  87 

she  is  perfection,  and  I  can  predict,  from  its  violence, 
that  her  fancy  will  last  for  two  days  more,  at  the  very 
least." 

"  It  is  a  most  singular  history,"  observed  the  aunt,  as 
they  sat  down  together  on  a  sofa.  "  Two  or  three  years 
ago,  her  father  came  to  this  town,  after  wandering  about 
the  world  in  an  apparently  idle,  shiftless,  and  finally 
criminal  manner,  having  even  been  incarcerated  for 
forgery  in  the  State's  Prison.  The  misfortunes  and 
misery,  which  appear  to  pursue  the  human  destiny  on 
various  occasions,  followed  him  wherever  he  went. 
They  clung  to  him  here,  and  by  their  ravages  his  being 
is  entirely  broken  down,  would  you  think,  and  in  his  en 
deavors  to  obtain  employment  he  has  invariably  failed 
in  a  singular  manner.  Some  time  after  he  arrived,  in 
stead  of  saving  what  little  money  he  had,  he  indulged 
in  the  romance,  would  you  think,  of  causing  the  re 
mains  of  his  wife  to  be  brought  to  this  town  from  the 
place  where  she  had  died  in  their  wandering  To  be 
sure,,  it  was  an  honorable  enough  act,  considered  in  the 
abstract,  'and  showed  his  affection,  but  not  at  all  ad 
visable  at  the  time,  considering  his  circumstances, 
would  you  think  it  ?  Well,  however,  you  should  have 
seen  the  funeral.  That  very  day  I  happened,  would  you 
believe  it — to  be  driving  along  near  the  church,  taking 
the  air,  which  I  consider  highly  necessary  to  our  exist 
ence  as  healthful  human  beings,  or  unhealthful,  for  that 
matter,  indeed,  when  I  observed  a  small  procession 
coming  towards  me.  Behind  a  hearse  walked  this  old 
man  and  his  daughter,  dressed  in  neat  but  well-worn 
apparel,  and  after  them  a  colored  man  and  his  wife  and 
daughter,  but  not  another  soul,  would  you  believe  it  ? 
People  naturally  shunned  them,  and  besides  that,  you 


05  DINAH. 

know,  human  beings  are  hateful,  and  I  hate  'em — that 
is,  some  of  them." 

At  this  episodical  utterance  of  feeling,  the  maiden 
aunt  stopped,  and  blew  her  nose  in  a  pettish  manner, 
while  the  Southerner  was  unusually  silent. 

"  In  spite  of  their  wicked  tendencies,  and  their  deg 
radation,"  continued  the  aunt,  resuming  her  narrative, 
with  a  severe  air,  "  I  then  resolved  I  would  assist  them 
at  the  very  first  opportunity,  but  I  forgot  it,  although  I 
had  occasion  to  remember  it  several  times  ;  the  human 
mind  being  eccentric,  indeed,  in  its  mysterious  work 
ings." 

"  I  know  it  is,"  said  the  colonel ;  "  but  it  is  pretty 
regular  in  matters  of  this  kind." 

"  Yes ;  well,  they  lived  along  in  some  way  or  an 
other  for  a  long  while,  until,  in  answer  to  the  young 
girl,  who  asked  me  quite  often,  though  not  persistently, 
to  give  them  a  place,  I  consented,  would  you  believe 
it  ?  they  appear  to  be  disposed  to  pay  their  debts  with 
the  money  they  earn,  and  are  of  quite  a  saving  nature ; 
but  still,  you  know,  they  belong  to  that  class  of  people 
which  we  find  so  often  in  the  world,  whose  finer  in 
stincts,  if  they  ever  had  any,  have  been  extinguished 
by  their  poverty  and  shiftlessness,  to  be  sure.  Whether 
their  apparent  gratitude  to  me  is  temporary,  or  perhaps 
entirely  hypocritical,  is  a  question  which  remains,  of 
course,  yet  to  be  proven  by  my  experience  with'  them. 
The  old  man  is  stupid  and  silent  in  attending  to  his  la 
bors,  but  the  girl  is  quite  smart  and  cheerful ;  though, 
I  must  say,  I  fear  she  is  as  unreliable  as  her  father.  It 
was  only  the  other  day  that  she  betrayed  tendencies  of 
her  nature  in  such  a  way  to  me,  as  led  me  to  believe, 
indeed — I  fear  they  are  not  to  be  relied  upon — not  at 


DINAH.  89 

all ;  but  I  think  I  did  rightly,  nevertheless.  They  can 
not  indulge  in  their  vicious  propensities  to  any  great 
extent  in  the  position  which  they  occupy  here,  you 
know,  colonel,  and,  at  any  rate,  they  can  be  dismissed 
at  any  moment,  as  I  then  said  in  reference  to  the  point," 
continued  she,  with  tremendous  energy,  though  com 
mencing  to  wander  slightly,  "  you  know  how  difficult 
it  is  for  the  human  intellect,  as  it  were,  in  reference  to 
its  duties,  you  know,  towards  the  human  heart,  indeed, 
in  the  various  ramifications  of  the  social  net-work — I 
may  say,  will  lead  to  that  very  thing,  and — to  be  sure, 
I  was  conversing  with  my  sister  this  very  morning  upon 
the  propriety  of  dismissing  them,  you  know,  and  al 
though  my  sister  related  some  occurrences,  you  know, 
in  which  she  thought,  you  know,  she  had  observed 
cunning  and  dissimulation,  you  know,  on  the  part  of 
this  young  girl,  you  know — ('  ISTo !  I  don't,'  said  the 
colonel,  briefly)  she  still  thought  the  cause  she  men 
tioned  was  not  at  all  sufficient,  even  not  considering  it 
in  the  light  of  humanity,  to  justify  such  a  step,  inas 
much  as  there  was  no  harm  to  be  pointed  at  and — " 

She  might  have  died  on  the  spot  from  a  hemorrhage 
of  words,  had  not  the  Southerner  here  astounded  her  by 
suddenly  seizing  her  hand,  and  putting  it  to  his  lips 
with  a  passionate  gesture  of  excessive  devotion. 

"  Oh,  dear  !  what  is  this  ?  "  said  she,  starting  from 
her  position,  and  withdrawing  her  hand  with  the  light 
ning-like  rapidity  which  a  mud-turtle  evinces  in  causing 
his  head  to  disappear  into  his  interior. 

"  I  love  you !  "  said  the  fervent  colonel. 

("  Gracious  heavens  !  another  !  and  a  married  man. 
Oh,  horrible  !  This  it  is — to  be  too  fascinating ! '') 

("  She  is  old  enough  to  be  my  great  grandmother, 


90  DINAH. 

and  it  is  safe  to  say  so,  and  besides  that,  I  really  love 
her  for  what  she  has  done.)  I  love  you  !  "  repeated  the 
ardent  Southerner,  in  pursuance  of  his  new  theory. 

"  Ah,  that  fatal  avowal !  Heavens !  he  is  young, 
but  he  is  married,  and  it  is  of  no  use,"  said  the  maiden 
aunt,  both  with  vehemence  and  irritation. 

"  How  are  you  now  ?  "  asked  the  colonel,  enthu 
siastically. 

"  Sir,  that  was  an  assumption,  you  know,  of  a  privi 
lege  which  should  belong  only  to  those — who — "  con 
tinued,  feebly,  the  lady. 

"  Eh  ?  can't  a  man  express  his  love  for  an  old  friend 
of  his  family  ?  I  love  and  venerate  you !  "  said  the  ex 
cited  colonel,  punching  the  startled  female  in  the  ribs, 
to  restore  her  to  easiness. 

"Sir!"  said  the  lady,  episodically,  "I  well  know 
the  mysterious  feelings  of  sympathy  to  which  you  al 
lude,  and  which  too  often,  alas  !  exist  in  the  bosom  in 
spite  of  ourselves,  and  I  know,  too,  how  irrepressible 
they  are — but  you  musn't  do  that  again.  (I  wouldn't 
allow  any  person  to  do  that,  even  if  he  were  a  single 
man !  ") 

"  Oh,  I  didn't  mean  to  be  impolite.  In  the  South 
it  is  a  common  token  of  friendship  and  admiration,  you 
know,"  continued  the  gallant  colonel,  immediately  be 
stowing  upon  her  another  ardent  look. 

("  Dear  me,  this  must  not  continue  a  moment 
longer !  He  a  married  man  and  I  single,  and  his  wife 
— ah  fate!  let  me  not  be  the  unwilling  cause  of 
estrangement  between  two  happy  hearts  !)  Rouse,  sir ! 
rouse  yourself !  Think  of  one  to  whom  you  are  already 
affianced  !  (Poor  girl !  I  pity  her.)  Fly,  sir,  fly  from 
my  fatal  influence.  Leave  the  house  at  once,  and  keep 


DINAH.  91 

the  fatal  secret  ever  locked  in  your  unhappy  bosom. 
Go,  go,  unhappy  young  man,  and  absence  may  dissi 
pate  it !  At  least,  go  now  !  " 

"  Eh  ?  Well  I  will.  I  think  I  had  better  take  a  walk, 
hadn't  I?  You  needn't  say  any  thing  about  it,  eh? 
(Maybe  I  was  too  enthusiastic,  but  she  is  a  good  old 
soul,  and  I  really  love  her  for  what  she  did,")  reflected 
the  colonel,  as  he  left  the  apartment. 

"  Oh  heavens  !  he  has  gone !  Ah  !  little  do  my 
female  friends  know  the  sad  havoc  which  I  thus  un 
wittingly  make,  in  spite  of  my  own  feeble,  powerless 
will,  among  the  poor  hearts  of  those  beings  of  the  other 
sex  who  are  cast  in  my  fatal  path.  One  more.  Alas  ' 
shall  I — shall  I — reveal  this  terrible  secret  to  him — 
to  him — who  has  the  best  right  to  this  frame — (frame  ! 
that  poetic  word  which  he  has  used  himself  in  refer 
ring  to  the  casket  of  all  his  hopes.)  ~No — no — my 
Pithkin,  I  will  warn  you  by  signs,  but  I  will  spare 
you  the  cruel  revelation !  " 

While  thus  fixing  her  firm  resolve  to  withhold  the 
secret  from  the  innocent  Pithkin,  and  devising  various 
plans  for  harrowing  up  his  soul,  by  conveying  to  him 
the  idea  that  there  was  something  terrible  in  store  for 
him,  without  letting  him  know  what  it  was,  she  was 
interrupted  by  the  arrival  of  her  sister  and  Mrs.  Nor- 
comb,  accompanied  by  the  girl  Dinah.  Charles,  who 
had  observed  them  from  his  window,  assisted  them  to 
alight,  and  accompanied  them  to  the  saloon.  On  the 
ride,  the  girl  Dinah,  in  venturing  to  recount  some 
scenes  of  her  life  in  reply  to  the  questions  of  the  ladies, 
had  become  an  object  of  thought  to  Charles's  mother. 
She  had,  of  course,  naturally  avoided  that  part  of  the 
history  of  her  family  which  referred  to  the  degradation 


92  DINAH. 

and  crime  of  her  father,  but  she  showed  great  tact  in 
going  further  and  dwelling  upon  certain  of  his  merits, 
and  in  showing  herself  glad  that  an  opportunity  had 
been  given  her  to  tell  them  how  good  a  father  he  had 
been,  how  he  had  loved  her  mother,  &c.  She  had  a 
certain  right,  of  course,  to  dwell  upon  these  points,  and 
mitigate  the  darkness  of  his  offence  against  society  with 
the  light  of  his  virtues,  but  the  mother  thought  she  saw 
in  her  face  no  other  indications  of  her  nature  than  of 
that  astuteness  which  had  taught  her  the  policy  of 
praise  of  a  father  falling  from  the  lips  of  a  child. 

As  the  conversation  turned  upon  matters  respecting 
a  world  from  which  the  girl  had  been  excluded  by 
poverty,  she  became  once  more  an  humble  and  silent 
listener,  but  again  when  it  appealed  directly  to  nature, 
she  seemed  to  forget  herself,  and  boldly  mingled  her 
voice  with  those  of  the  ladies.  Both  of  them  noticed 
with  what  dexterity  she  used  the  bright  power  of 
satire  on  this  occasion,  and  as  satire  is  a  kind  of  open 
hypocrisy,  the  mother  immediately  took  it  as  another 
indication  of  the  artfulness  which  was  either  inherent 
in  her,  or  had  become  a  second  nature  by  the  education 
of  her  childhood.  She  remembered  that  it  was  with 
the  same  unpleasant  conclusion  that  she  had  before  this 
noticed  the  little  ingenious  replies  of  a  complimentary 
nature,  the  nattering  turn  of  general  thought  to  personal 
application,  which  this .  girl  was  often  accustomed  to 
make,  and  while  sentiments  of  repugnance  filled  her  as 
she  saw  this  insidious  shrewdness  so  unnaturally  en 
grafted  in  a  being  of  such  tender  years,  these  senti 
ments  were  changed  into  pity  as  she  reflected  she  was 
still  old  enough  to  make  this  tendency  ineradicable. 

In  spite  of  these  thoughts,  and  polished  woman  as 


DINAH.  93 

she  was,  instructing  by  her  intellect,  and  warming  with 
her  heart  the  educated  circles  in  which  she  moved,  she 
listened,  on  this  occasion,  in  unconscious  deference  to 
the  girl,  for  she  caught  her  now  and  then  expressing 
truths  which  might  have  done  honor  to  a  philosopher, 
if  not  exactly  in  the  language  of  a  poet.  An  almost 
arrogant  air  seemed  to  rest  on  the  young  girl's  face,  as 
if  the  pleased  regards  of  admiration  which  Charles's 
mother  at  times  unconsciously  bestowed  upon  her  had 
made  her  forget  her  hypocrisy,  and  betray  a  further 
fault  of  her  nature — a  seeming  disposition  to  take  im 
proper  advantage  of  any  concessions  which  might  be 
made  to  her.  Thus  the  mother  noticed  that  as  they 
drove  up  to  the  terrace,  the  girl  uttered  some  truth 
ful  enough  remark  in  such  a  careless  manner,  that 
it  seemed  almost  patronizing.  As  Charles  assisted 
them  out,  too,  the  girl,  who  came  last,  held  out  her 
hand  also  in  the  usual  prerogatived  manner  of  fe 
males,  as  if  ordering  the  young  man  to  take  it  and 
assist  her  out.  There  was  a  slight  delay  on  his  part, 
but  he  quickly  assisted  her  to  alight  as  he  had  the 
others.  It  was  here  that  the  girl  seemed  suddenly  to 
remember  that  she  had  forgotten  herself.  Whether  it 
was  the  involuntary  aspiration  of  an  innocent  nature  or 
not,  the  seeming  confidence  vanished  from  her  counte 
nance  as  quick  as  lightning.  She  hung  her  head,  and 
her  face  became  scarlet. 


94:  DINAH. 


CHAPTEE    XIY. 

ME.    PITHKIN   AT    THE    BALL. AN    INCIDENT. — AN   ADVENTTTEE   ALSO 

OF   NATHANIEL   BONNET   THEEEAT. 

THE  ball  of  the  Lancers  took  place,  assembling  to 
gether  from  the  neighborhood  a  sodality  of  pleasure- 
seekers.  Among  others,  the  ladies  from  Pompney 
Place  (with  the  exception  of  the  disinclined  Mrs.  Nor- 
comb)  came  to  grace  the  scene,  accompanied  by  Charles 
and  the  colonel.  As  they  reached  the  scene  of  pleasure, 
carriages  were  arriving  and  departing — servants  en 
gaged  in  loyal  altercation — ever  and  anon  the  hum  of 
the  promenaders  within,  swelling  and  dying  away — 
graceful  forms  in  the  light  habiliments  of  summer  re 
clining  at  the  windows — low  laughter  in  the  gardens — 
the  beautiful  everywhere  tinged  with  American  char 
acter. 

It  was  at  the  conclusion  of  the  first  quadrille  in 
which  the  chaste  aunt  participated,  that  her  partner, 
Mr.  Pithkin,  excited  by  the  dance  in  which  she  had 
pulled  him  severely  about,  prematurely  sought  the  re 
freshment-room,  leaving  her  to  perform  with  the  young 
advocate  Nathaniel,  the  fancy  dance  which  was  next 
announced,  and  which  was  rendered  exceedingly  fancy 
by  their  execution  of  it.  The  prospective  enjoyment 
of  the  evening  by  Mr.  Pithkin  had  been  marred  at  the 
outset  by  a  fatal  singularity  in  the  deportment  of  his 
nephew,  present  on  the  occasion.  He  was  further 
astonished  at  finding  him,  also,  in  the  refreshment- 
room. 

"  What  are  you  doing  here,  sir  ?  "  asked  he,  sternly. 
There  was  no  one  else  there.  The  waiters,  especially  im- 


DINAH.  95 

ported  from  New  York,  headed  by  the  second  cook,  had 
rushed  frantically  across  the  street  to  the  main  kitchen 
in  answer  to  a  breathless  announcement  from  the  chief 
cook,  that  all  were  needed  in  boning  the  turkeys.  "  Let 
that  punch  alone.  As  it  is  poured  out  I  will  take  it. 
I  sent  for  you  to  come  here  from  college  that  you  might 
make- an  impression  on  Miss  Well  wood — a  good  match 
— 500,000  in  U.  S.  6's,  and  delightful  to  the  relatives 
of  both  parties,  especially  to  me,  and  here  you  are  with 
your — take  your  hands  out  of  your  breeches !  What 
is  this  !  you  smell  horribly  of  cigars." 

"  Yes,  I  was  stoking  one  before  I  came  in,"  replied 
the  fragrant  academician. 

"  Stoking  one  !  What  language  !  By  Heaven,  you 
will  worry  your  poor  old  uncle  to  premature  gray 
hairs  or  baldness.  Leave  this  apartment.  Here !  let 
that  glass  alone.  Go  up  stairs.  Remove  your  hands 
from  your  pantaloons,  and  join  in  the  festivities."  The 
youth  obeyed  the  stern  mandate,  and  his  uncle,  a  prey 
to  disagreeable  reflections,  having  swallowed  the  punch 
in  abstraction  and  followed  him,  was  observed  by  the 
maiden  aunt  as  he  entered  the  ball-room  again.  A 
dark  look  passed  over  her  face.  She  had  kept  the 
secret  until  then,  and  should  she  now  destroy  the  peace 
of  mind  of  that  innocent  creature,  in  the  midst  of  such 
a  scene  of  pleasure  by  requesting  a  few  moments  of 
private  conversation  with  him  behind  a  curtain  ?  "  No, 
no,  he  must  not  even  know  him  !  "  Her  card  was  filled 
up  for  three  or  four  dances  ahead.  "  How  unanimous 
they  all  are !  What  wild,  striving  creatures  are  men, 
and  yet  they  are  pleasant  things  to  have  about !  Look 
not  dissatisfied,  my  Pithkin,  if  I  do  dance  with  them, 
the  privilege  of  taking  me  down  to  supper  will  restore 


96  DINAH. 

you !  "  Mr.  Pitlikin  was  not  only  dissatisfied,  lie  was 
becoming  exasperated.  A  cotillion  had  been  called, 
and  his  nephew  had  become  entangled  in  the  sets.  In 
one,  the  ladies  on  forming  the  basket  figure,  were  aston 
ished  at  finding  five  gentlemen,  instead  of  four,  en 
closed  within  their  chain  of  hands. 

"  It  don't  work  at  all,"  reflected  Mr.  Pithkin.  "  He 
seems  to  create  no  sensation  upon  the  floor,  except  that 
of  unmitigated  disgust.  There  he  goes  with  his  hands 
in  his  breeches  again.  Hands  out  of  your  breeches !  " 
roared  he,  in  a  suppressed  manner  to  himself.  "  Gra 
cious  !  this  is  more  than  I  expected.  I  will  go  below. 
Perhaps  the  punch  may  refresh  me." 

On  returning  Mr.  Pithkin  observed,  with  astonish 
ment,  that  the  object  of  his  disappointment,  this  time, 
had  got  into  a  prominent  place  in  the  orchestral  bal 
cony,  among  the  musicians.  He  had  wandered  into  the 
secret  passage  leading  thereto,  and  appearing  suddenly 
in  their  midst,  had  confused  the  minds  of  two  trumpets 
and  a  clarionet,  and  thus  disturbed  the  harmony  of  the 
piece  that  was  being  executed.  The  drummer,  who 
wouldn't  have  been  confused  if  a  cannon  had  been 
fired  at  him,  besides  keeping  admirable  time,  was  find 
ing  opportunities  to  relieve  his  exasperated  feelings  by 
making  short  dabs  at  the  intruder  with  his  stick. 

"  Come  down  out  of  that !  What  are  you  doing  up 
there  ?  "  roared  Mr.  Pithkin  again,  in  a  suppressed 
manner  to  himself.  "  Gracious  !  this  is  growing  more 
unsatisfactory  than  ever.  His  conduct  has  twice 
forced  me  to  go  below,  and  deprived  me  already  of 
three  dances.  I  cannot  dance  with  such  feelings.  I 
must  go  again.  A  glass  of  punch  may  restore  me ; " 
and  again  Mr.  Pithkin  sought  the  supper-room.  It  was 


DINAH.  97 

no  longer  deserted.     Three  waiters  and  the  chief  cook 
had  returned. 

"  "What  do  you  want  here  ? "  said  the  latter,  as  Mr. 
Pithkin  opened  the  door.  . 

"  Oh,  nothing !  nothing !  "  said  Mr.  Pithkin,  leav 
ing  slowly,  apparently  having  made  a  mistake. 

("  Eh  !  it  is  the  extra  man  they  were  to  send  me  to 
open  the  oysters,"  said  the  cook,  "  he's  come  at  last. 
However,  the  later  they  are  opened,  the  better.)  You 
ought  to  have  come  earlier.  There  is  a  good  many  of 
them,"  continued  he  to  Mr.  Pithkin. 

"  Three  hundred,  at  least !  "  said  the  latter,  whose 
mind  reverted  to  the  dancers  above. 

"  Three  hundred  !  With  those  that  are  here,  and 
those  outside,  there  will  be  two  thousand,  at  least." 

"  What  a  number  !  "  said  Mr.  Pithkin. 

"  Yes  ;  but  if  they  were  all  opened  with  a  good 
knife,  they  wouldn't  take  up  so  much  room  as  they  do 
now." 

This  was  the  most  curious  and  impracticable  idea 
that  Mr.  Pithkin  had  ever  heard — a  proposition  to  re 
duce  crowds  in  ball-rooms  by  opening  each  of  the 
guests  with  a  knife. 

"  And  the  quicker  you  take  off  your  coat  and  go  to 
work,  the  better.  "VVe  are  pressed  for  time.  Open  the 
large,  fat  ones  first." 

Mr.  Pithkin  fled  abruptly  from  the  room.  The  man 
actually  wanted  him  to  execute  his  insane  proposition, 
and  commence  with  the  largest  and  fattest  of  the  guests. 

"  I  have  made  a  mistake,"  said  the  chief  cook,  as 
Mr.  Pithkin  left  with  precipitation,  "  this  is  not  the 
man.    This  one  is  apparently  drunk,  and  they  wouldn't 
send  one  here  drunk." 
5 


98  DINAH. 

On  entering  the  ball-room  once  more,  Mr.  Pithkin 
stumbled  against  his  nephew,  who  had  evidently  just  re 
solved  to  go  below  again.  "  Get  out !  "  said  he,  with 
renewed  choler.  "  What  are  you  doing  here,  rascal  ? 
Go  back  and  join  in  the  conversation.  Don't  you  see 
Miss  "Wellwood  is  observing  you  ?  Go  and  accompany 
her  to  her  seat.  Ask  her  to  d  ance  or  do  something. 
Ask  her  if  she  wouldn't  like  to  sit  down  and — take 
your  hands  out  of  your  rascally  breeches !  " 

"  Look  at  that  young  man.  He  worries  me — look 
at  him  !  "  exclaimed  he,  in  great  irritation  to  IsTat,  who 
had  accosted  him  ;  "  he  told  me,  the  other  day,  if  I  would 
present  him  with  a  meerschaum  pipe  to  smoke  over  it, 
he  would  follow  Dr.  Fuffles's  excellent  advice  and  study 
metaphysics  at  the  college  where  he  was.  So  I  sent 
him  the  pipe,  and  Dr.  Fuffles  the  metaphysical  works 
of  a  profound  German  philosopher,  in  the  original  lan 
guage." 

"  "What,  does  John  read  German  ?  "  asked  Nat. 

"  Oh,  no  ;  not  very  well ;  but  as  the  chief  merit  of 
the  work  lay  in  its  unintelligibility,  we  wanted  to  make 
it  more  so  to  him.  But  the  rascal  didn't  touch  it.  He 
succeeded  in  coloring  his  pipe,  but  no  color  of  meta 
physics  as  yet  tinges  his  thoughts.  You  will  excuse 
my  loquacity  to-night.  But  the  fact  of  it  is,  that  I  have 
always  been  remarkable  for  that  when  I  am  inclined  to 
talk.  A  great  difference  between  me  and  my  brother 
in  that  respect,  Bonney  ;  I  was  always  like  my  mother, 
very  loquacious,  but  Obad  resembled  my  father.  He 
hadn't  any  teeth,  (lost  'em  by  accident,)  and  couldn't. — 
"Would  you  like  to  walk  out  on  the  balcony  and  take 
the  air,  madam  ?  "  continued  he,  as  ISTat  left  him,  turn 
ing  to  a  dowager  seated  alone  on  the  wall  near  him  ; 


DINAH.  99 

liis  feelings  of  courtesy  beginning  to  flow  with  eccentric 
ardor.  The  lady,  hinting  that  she  didn't  know  him, 
promptly  declined. 

"  Eh  !  you  don't  think  I  will  be  guilty  of  any  im 
propriety,  do  you  ?  I  must  do  something,"  continued 
he  in  soliloquy.  "  I  mustn't  go  near  my  friend  of  Pomp- 
ney  Place  now.  She  has  a  noble  mind,  but  insane 
ideas.  In  the  excitement  of  the  moment  I  might  be 
involved  in  some  ambiguous  expressions  leading  to  a 
committal,  perhaps.  These  young  ladies  are  very  in 
teresting.  I  don't  know  'em,  but  I  will  engage  in  ad 
venture.  The  poet  has  eloquently  observed  that  the 
proper  study  of  mankind  is  man — the  study  of  woman 
is  instructive,  too.  It  is  philosophical,  even  if  it  is  a 
weakness.  There  are  so  many  rascals  disgracing  virtue 
by  assuming  it,  so  many  scoundrels  assuming  a  digni 
fied  propriety  of  demeanor  nowadays  to  cover  up  their 
crimes,  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  me  to  throw 
oif  my  natural  dignity  sometimes  to  avoid  suspecting 
myself  to  be  one." 

"  Look  at  that  form,  Julia !  "  said  one  of  the  young 
girls,  in  an  audible  whisper  to  her  friend,  as  Mr.  Pith- 
kin  approached,  in  an  affable  manner. 

"  Eh  ?  Do  you  like  my  form  ?  Do  you  know  now, 
if  there  was  any  way  I  could  part  with  it,  I'd  make  it 
a  present  to  you  !  "  said  the  latter,  in  a  temporary  burst 
of  generosity. 

"And  those  legs;  but  he  must  be  used  to  them 
now,"  said  the  other,  "  nature  having  given  them  to 
him  in  earliest  infancy." 

"  Certainly,"  said  Mr.  Pithkin,  still  smiling  upon 
them  affably.  "  It  must  have  been  at  an  early  period 
of  my  career,  as  I  can't  exactly  recollect  the  time  when 


100 

I  was  without  'em !  Gracious !  my  pleasant  study  is 
already  interrupted.  Here  she  comes  after  me,"  con 
tinued  he,  as  Charles's  aunt  came  over  to  accost  him, 
on  the  arm  of  a  gentleman,  for  supper  was  now  an 
nounced,  and  the  time  had  arrived  for  Mr.  Pithkin  to 
take  her  down  to  the  banquet-room. 

On  entering  the  room,  his  feelings  at  the  conduct 
of  his  nephew  John  reached  their  climax.  He  imme 
diately  observed,  with  mingled  sentiments  of  horror 
and.  disgust,  in  a  mirror  at  a  distant  end  of  the  room, 
the  conspicuous  image  of  his  nephew  placidly  engaged 
behind  a  screen  in  the  singular  occupation  of  opening 
oysters.  That  individual,  having  been  caught  by  the 
chief  cook  as  he  was  about  helping  himself  to  some 
punch  a  few  moments  before,  had  been  induced  by  him 
to  believe,  on  a  theory  which  he  did  not  precisely  com 
prehend,  that  this  singular  duty  of  the  evening  had 
devolved  upon  him  especially,  and  being  of  a  benevo 
lent  nature,  and  remembering  that  he  might  eat  as 
many  of  them  as  he  pleased  at  leisure,  he  had  entered 
with  ardor  into  the  discharge  thereof. 

"  Drop  that  knife !  "  shrieked  Mr.  Pithkin  inter 
nally,  on  observing  this  horrible  reflection.  "  Gracious, 
it  is  all  over  now.  Everybody  sees  him.  Miss  Well- 
wood  has  seen  him.  It  is  all  over.  His  career  is  fin 
ished  here ! " 

'  Mr.  Pithkin  took  no  pleasure  in  the  supper.  He 
partook  freely  of  the  punch,  indeed,  but  it  produced  no 
immediate  relief;  and  even  when  seated  with  the  spin 
ster  upon  the  balcony  of  the  garden  after  a  dance  or 
two  was  over,  he  still  felt  gloomy.  "  Goodness !  how 
dark  it  is,"  said  his  fair  friend  ;  "  the  firmament  is  as 
black  as  a  canopy  of  raspberry  jam !  "  Pithkin  secretly 


DINAH.  101 

applauded  the  boldness  of  the  metaphor,  and  just  then 
the  orchestra  struck  up  a  singular  composition,  so  wild 
in  its  genius  that  it  distracted  his  gloom  by  its  singular 
ity.  "  I  am  very  fond  of  music,"  said  he ;  "  in  my  col 
lege  days  I  played  the  clarionet  in  the  band  for  three 
years,  though  it  is  a  most  remarkable  circumstance,  I 
actually  never  liked  music  until  I  left  off  playing."  The 
spinster  uttered  a  sigh,  and  turned  her  languishing  ga2e 
upon  him.  "  It  seems  as  though  the  band,  guided  by 
some  mysterious  presence,"  said  she,  "  had  seized  their 
instruments  to  execute  in  melodious  frenzy  these  wild, 
delicious  cadences,  each  feeling  independent  of  the 
other,  and  searching  the  infinite  in  distinct  paths  of 
harmony."  "  I  think  they  are  intoxicated,"  replied  Mr. 
Pithkin. 

"  How  many — many  sounds  and  visions  are  there  in 
nature,  which  seem  to  tell  us  of  another  and  a  higher 
existence !  "  murmured  his  friend. 

"  Yes,  and,  by  the  way,  particularly  cats.  There  is 
something  wild  about  them,  and  something  unearthly 
about  their  yells,  even  when  they  are  making  love, 
which  has  always  struck  me !  Haven't  you  noticed 
it  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Pithkin. 

The  spinster  had  cast  her  eyes  upon  the  garden  be 
neath.  The  moon  had  gone  down.  The  night  was  ob 
scure.  The  lowest  audible  sigh  to  the  winds,  and  ever 
and  anon  distant  muttering,  might  be  heard  in  the  hori 
zon.  A  dull,  repeated  flash  of  lightning  lit  up  the  gar 
dens  away  from  the  lustre  shed  from  the  lamps,  when 
she  observed  a  person  amid  the  foliage,  pushing  a  fe 
male  with  a  rude  blow  from  him,  while  she  seemed 
to  be  endeavoring  to  persuade  him  away.  She  then 
saw  the  female  rest  upon  the  ground,  and  cover 


102  DINAH. 

face  with  her  hands  and  then  both  disappear  quickly. 
There  was  a  certain  wildness  withal  in  this  scene  of 
violence  which  overcame  the  observer.  And  do  not  the 
wild  spirits  of  sorrow  and  crime  thus  grotesquely  love 
to  mingle  their  work  in  earthly  scenes  of  happiness ! 
The  spinster  uttered  a  suppressed  scream. 

"  Heavens !  It  is  he  ;  on  such  nights  he  comes,"  said 
she,  with  a"  romantic  look  at  Mr.  Pithkin,  who  asked 
her  to  halloo  again,  having  arrived  at  that  state  in 
which  he  felt  inclined  to  do  it  himself. 

"  Thus  seated  with  you  have  I  seen  the  pioneer ! 
This  time  he  comes  with  his  murderess  suing  for  for 
giveness.  Aye,  know  you  not,  it  is  said  that  on  nights 
of  earthly  festivity  and  mirth  they  love  to  appear,  either 
together,  engaged  in  altercation,  or  one  in  terrible  lone 
liness?  Those  who  witness  their  quarrels,  it  is  said, 
will  subsequently  be  unhappy  because  they  are  married. 
Those  who  see  one  of  them  alone,  will  be  unhappy  be 
cause  they  are  not.  And  this — this  determines  me.  I 
shall  be  married  at  any  rate." 

"  But  you  saw  only  one  of  'em  before,  when  we 
were  walking  together  at  the  Place,"  said  Mr.  Pithkin, 
with  sudden  cunning. 

"  Oh,  pshaw !  no.  It  wasn't  the  pioneer  at  all.  Some 
strayer  purloining  fruit ;  and  besides  that,  I  can't  help 
it,  if  it  was.  Some  influence  mysterious  and  solemn, 
commencing  from  the  moment  just  passed,  whispers  in 
my  bosom  that  I  shall  be  married." 

Pithkin  remembered,  with  a  secret  chuckle,  that  it 
wouldn't  be  to  him  at  any  rate,  as,  if  he  had  ever  seen 
them,  he  had  seen  but  one.  His  spirits  rose  to  such  a 
high  degree  that  he  immediately  joined  once  more  in 
the  festivities,  gradually  relapsing,  however,  through 


DINAH.  103 

that  stage  of  excitement  in  which  he  prophesied  happi 
ness  to  everybody  to  singing  his  own  misfortunes,  and 
finally  to  falling  down  in  a  singular  manner.  It  rained 
severely  when  he  was  carried  home  on  a  shutter  by  a 
few  friends.  His  nephew  John  had  the  advantage  over 
him,  as  it  was  dry  weather  when  he  wa^  carried  home. 

It  was  about  half  an  hour  before  the  occurrence 
in  the  gardens,  which  had  been  witnessed  by  the  spin 
ster,  that  the  young  advocate,  Nathaniel,  having  been 
slighted  by  Laura,  who,  after  dancing  with  him  nine 
times,  positively  forbade  any  further  attempts  in  that 
direction,  rushed  madly  into  the  open  air  to  cool  his 
excited  being.  He  had  straggled,  in  his  distraction,  to 
a  secluded  part  of  the  park  amid  an  overpowering  smell 
of  lilacs  and  utter  darkness,  when  he  ran  into  a  box- 
tree.  At  that  moment  a  lady  from  the  opposite  direc 
tion,  with  rapid  steps  ran  into  it  on  the  other  side,  and 
then  the  two  encountered  each  other  in  a  very  unpleas 
ant  manner.  "  Heavens !  "  said  the  lady.  "  Oh,  sir, 
take  me  under  your  care  for  a  moment.  I  am  pur 
sued  !  "  Nat  had  hardly  time  to  recover  from  his  stu 
pefaction  at  this  event,  when  a  gentleman  came  up 
with  some  haste,  stumbling  along  the  path,  laughing 
and  muttering,  "  Confound  the  darkness !  I  think 
one  of  them  went  this  way.  If  I  catch  her,  I'll  refer 
her  to  my  wife  for  my  irreproachable  character.  It's 
very  exciting !  I  think  it  is  the  exercise.  Gracious ! 
halloo  ! — a  man !  " 

"  What  do  you  want  here,  unauthorized  intruder  ?  " 
said  Nat.  The  lady  was  concealed  by  the  box-tree. 

"  Hush !  a  little  adventure,  you  know.  Did  you 
see  a  lady  come  this  way  ?  She  took  it  into  her  head 
to  run  away  from  me,  you  know !  Ha !  ha !  " 


104:  DINAH. 

"Ha!  ha!  certainly." 

"  Certainly  what  ?  " 

"  Of  course  she  ran  away  from  you.". 

"  I  hope  you  will  consider  my  meeting  you  as  of  no 
consequence  ? " 

"  I'm  not  surprised  at  that." 

«  Why  not  ?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing ;  you  might  as  well  surrender  the 
articles  you  have  on  your  person  to  me,  and  leave." 

"  What  articles  ?  " 

"  Why,  the  spoons  from  the  refreshment-room,  to 
be  sure.  (By  George,  I  can't  get  him  to  go !  ") 

"  Heavens !  a  lady  !  Excuse  me  ;  I  didn't  know 
you  were  accompanied,"  said  the  stranger,  peering  into 
the  darkness  behind  Nat.  "  Ha !  ha !  stolen  tete-a- 
tete.  Eh  ?  " 

"  Sir !  "  said  Nat,  resenting  the  insinuation  with 
great  ferocity. 

"  Oh  never  mind,"  said  the  unknown.  "  We  don't 
know  each  other.  I  am  Don  Giovanni !  I  thought 
you  might  have  seen  my  fair  refugee.  I  am  going." 

"  Stay ! "  said  Nat,  in  sudden  weakness.  "  She 
sought  an  interview — neh — how  do  you  do  these  things, 
Don  Giovanni  ?  What  shall  I  say  to  her  ?  " 

"  Say,  eh  ?  (I  never  thought  of  that ) — say — 
why,  tell  her  that  the  brightness  of  her  eyes  illu 
mines  the  terrible  darkness  of  the  night,  or  words  to 
that  effect." 

"  The  brightness  of  your  eyes  illumines  the  terrible 
darkness  or  words  to  that  effect,"  said  the  excited  Nat, 
stepping  back  to  whisper  to  the  lady. 

"  Oh  dear,  I  shall  die,"  murmured  the  latter. 

"  Don't,"  said  Nat ;    "  I  shall  take  it  as  a  personal 


DINAH.  105 

favor  if  you  wouldn't.  I  say,"  continued  he,  struck 
with  another  idea,  in  faint  hesitation  to  the  stranger, 
who  was  about  going  away,  "  she  might  have  a  hus 
band,  eh,  and  you  know  he  might — " 

"  Oh,  don't  mind  the  rascal. — If  you  meet  him,  tell 
him  he  is  a  rascal  or  something  of  that  kind.  He  is 
one  of  course,  or  else  he'd  be  here  with  his  wife. — Yes, 
tell  him  he  is  a  rascal,"  said  the  stranger,  raising  his 
voice  in  emphatic  vivacity. 

"  Well,  I  will.  Oh,  devil  take  it !  Yes !  "  said  Nat, 
violently. 

At  this  point,  however,  any  person  who  had  been 
able  to  see  through  the  night,  would  probably  have 
witnessed  one  of  the  most  singular  phenomena  that 
could  occur  amid  the  various  eccentricities  of  human 
conduct.  This  consisted  in  these  three  persons  sud 
denly  exploding  from  a  position  of  comparative  quiet, 
and  flying  frantically  from  one  another  in  all  directions 
of  the  darkness. 

"  Oh,  it  is  my  husband,  Col.  Norcomb  !  Let  me 
fly !  "  whispered  the  lady. 

"  What — Good  God  ! — the  fire-eating  Southerner 
Laura  was  to  introduce  me  to,"  said  !N"at,  in  a  cold  per 
spiration.  He  dabbed  his  forehead  for  a  startled  mo 
ment  with  his  handkerchief,  and  then  fled. 

"  Whew  !  Peppermint  !  "  said  the  Southerner. 
"  That  terrible  scent.  It  is  that  individual  who  was 
paying  such  attention  to  Miss  Wellwood,  and  by 
heaven,  that  is  she.  His  conversation  was  illusory! 
Thank  Heaven,  I  am  not  yet  discovered !  I  fly ! " 

The  colonel  retreated  with  as  great  precipitation 
toward  the  distant  ball-room  as  the  pitchy  darkness 
would  allow.     His  wife  fled  in  an  opposite  direction, 
5* 


106  DINAH. 

and  Nathaniel's  frantic  course  partook  of  the  nature  of 
an  insane  sky-rocket's  path.  In  one  of  the  delirious 
angles  which  he  had  formed  to  escape  discovery,  he  ran 
into  the  fence,  in  another  he  bounded  off  and  struck  a 
tree,  from  thence  he  precipitated  himself  into  an  arbor, 
and  finally  crossing  the  orbit  of  the  lady  who  was 
traversing  the  circular  path  leading  towards  the  back 
gate,  this  erratic  comet  came  again  in  collision  with 
the  fair  planet. 

'  "  Oh  dear,  how  it  lightens !  I  am  so  thankful  it  is 
you,  sir.  Ha!  ha!  We  have  escaped.  I  trust  you 
will  not  reveal  your  secret  to  my  husband.  It  is  the 
result  of  a  foolish  frolic  on  my  part.  "Will  you  please 
accompany  me  to  my  carriage  near  the  bank,  in  the 
unfrequented  street  yonder  ?  " 

"  Eh,  if  it  rests  with  me  to  inform  your  respected 
husband  of  the  singular  occurrences  of  this  evening,  I 
am  quite  sure  he  will  remain  in  a  state  of  unenlighten- 
ment  with  regard  to  them,"  said  Nat ;  "  and,  dear  me, 
allow  me  to  add  you  are  still  comparatively  insecure 
from  discovery  Gracious  !  it  is  beginning  to  rain,  too. 
Gome  under  the  shelter  of  this  lightning-proof  pine, 
madam,  while  I  run  to  my  residence  for  an  umbrella. 
Oh,  dear,  I  remember  it  was  stolen  during  the  last  spell 
of  dry  weather.  Our  only  chance  is  that  some  burglar 
who  is  careful  of  his  health,  has  broken  into  my  apart 
ments  during  my  absence,  and  inadvertently  left  one 
there.  Stay  !  A  novel  idea  !  I'll  borrow  one  !  " 

In  a  moment  or  two  after  this,  an  old  and  respected 
citizen  of  the  place,  who  had  come  with  two  umbrellas 
to  take  his  daughters  home,  was  ascending  the  grand 
flight  of  steps  outside  of  the  banquet-house,  holding 
one  tight  down  over  his  head,  and  the  other  under  his 


DINAH.  107 

arm,  when  he  heard  the  following  declaration  made  to 
him  in  the  darkness  outside  of  the  umbrella.  "  Sir,  I 
seize  this  opportunity  of  divulging  to  you  the  profound 
sentiments  of  esteem  and  respect  which  I  have  always 
entertained  for  you.  Lend  me  your  umbrella !  "  This 
expression  of  regard  and  abrupt  demand,  was  immedi 
ately  followed  by  the  lightning-like  disappearance  of  the 
umbrella,  which  was  jerked  from  under  his  arm  by  some 
unknown  person,  who  vanished  at  once  into  the  dark 
ness,  before  his  victim  could  turn  around.  The  quiet 
now  of  the  old  gentleman's  current  of  thoughts  was 
so  disturbed  by  this  remarkable  occurrence,  that  he  was 
fain  to  sit  down  feebly  on  a  wet  seat  with  the  other  um 
brella,  and  stare  for  a  while  idiotically  into  the  chasm 
of  darkness  which  the  ravisher  of  his  property  had  reft 
in  his  disappearance. 

Nat  reached  the  lady  with  his  acquisition  just  as 
the  bottom  of  a  small  cloud  dropt  out.  On  the  way  to 
the  carriage,  which  they  soon  reached,  the  lady  was  re 
volving  the  explicit  manner  in  which  she  intended  to 
vindicate  herself,  after  tormenting  her  husband  respect 
ing  the  occurrence.  How  she  had  discovered  the  girl 
Dinah  about  to  go  away  secretly  from  the  house ;  how, 
on  her  telling  her  she  was  going  to  take  a  little  walk, 
the  sudden  desire  had  entered  her  own  mind  of  taking 
the  girl  and  driving  to  town ;  how  she  had  ordered 
James  to  harness  a  team  and  be  discreet ;  how  they 
had  arrived  at  the  garden ;  how  Dinah  became  sepa 
rated  from  her  on  their  being  chased  by  some  unknown 
person.  On  arriving  at  the  carriage,  she  saw  that  the 
girl  Dinah  had  reached  it  in  safety  before  her.  Gluck- 
inson  was  engaged  in  holding  the  horses,  who  were  as 
frightened  as  he  was  with  the  lightning  ;  and  the  girl, 


108  DINAH. 

with  wet  clothes  and  pallid  face,  was  giving  him  direc 
tions,,  in  a  low,  yet  firm  voice.  She  laughed  at  the  sin 
gular  adventure  as  she  recognized  Mrs.  Norcomb,  and 
they  soon  drove  off  together,  after  Nat  had  been  prop 
erly  thanked  by  the  lady,  and  enjoined  to  secrecy. 

Thus  almost  in  every  earthly  scene  is  there  a  strange 
mixture  of  sorrow  and  joy,  of  laughter  and  tears  ! 


CHAPTER    XV. 

A  CONVERSATION. 

CHAKLES'S  mother  and  Mrs.  Norcomb,  accompanied 
by  the  colonel,  having  driven  to  town,  Charles  was  pro 
ceeding  to  the  library  to  read,  when  he  observed  the 
young  dependent,  Diana,  coming  from  a  pleasant  win 
dow  at  the  end  of  the  hall,  in  which  she  had  been  lin 
gering  for  a  moment.  The  warm  radiance  of  the  clear 
sunny  day,  such  as  might  be  found  in  climes  by  the 
Ionian  or  ./Egean  main,  was  softened  by  the  breeze  steal 
ing  into  the  corridor.  The  window  looked  out  upon  a 
still  green  glade,  where  the  cattle  were  grazing  with 
slow  advancing  pace,  and  in  the  distance,  amid  the 
trees,  might  be  seen  the  spire  of  the  church  rising  in 
pious  pride.  "With  the  thought  of  serenity  and  purity 
thus  prompted,  what  heart  should  not  feel,  on  such  a 
day,  the  enchanting  hope  and  foreshadowed  glow  of  a 
future  happy  existence  ? 

"  Stay !  "  said  he,  "  wait  a  moment." 

"  I  have  some  duties  to  perform,  sir,"  said  she,  with 
perhaps  a  well-assumed  look  of  earnestness. 


DINAH.  109 

"  Important  duties  ?  " 

"  Important  to  me,  because  they  are  mine,"  said 
she,  promptly. 

.  "  "Well,  then,  stay !  "  said  he,  feigning  a  stern  air 
of  command  unnatural  to  him.  "  You  must  consider  it 
your  duty  to  be  respectful  of  my  commands  also,  as  I 
am  master  here." 

"  Certainly !  "  said  the  girl  obediently.  A  sly  look 
passed  over  her  face. 

"  What  are  you  thinking  of?  "  asked  Charles,  notic 
ing  the  look  with  some  slight  confusion. 

"  I  was  thinking,  if  fate  let  me  select  a  master,  I 
would  choose  one  who  had  first  shown  he  was  master 
of  himself,"  replied  she,  in  mock  bitterness  at  his  feigned 
air  of  command. 

"  Eh  ?  The  members  of  every  household  should 
know  their  positions,  shouldn't  they  ?  "  continued  he, 
fighting  against  the  idea  that  he  was  conversing  with 
an  old  friend.  * 

"  Yes ;  but  when  a  master  thinks  it  necessary  to 
command,  he  ought  to  reflect  that  it  may  be  only  be 
cause  he  is  master  that  he  has  the  right,"  replied  she,  in 
defiant  banter. 

"  But  the  kind  master  of  a  household  will  not  always 
command,  my  girl ;  he  can  advise  and  reprove  as  a 
friend,  for  instance,  and  yet  be  master !  "  said  he^the 
severity  of  his  manner  gradually  disappearing. 

"  Ought  not  he  to  forget,  then,  that  he  is  master  ? 
No — no — it  is  not  so.  He  may  forget  it  when  he  com 
mands,"  added  she,  quickly,  and  with  serious  firmness ; 
"  but  when  his  words  fall  in  other  tones,  I  think  he 
should  always  remember  it." 

Could  she  be  entertaining  a  suspicion  unworthy  of 
his  honor  ? 


110  DINAH. 

. 

"  It  leads  the  inferior  to  take  advantage  of  his  kind 
ness,"  continued  she,  showing  that  she  was  innocent  of 
his  construction,  and  farther,  that  she  was,  perhaps, 
chastising  her  own  inclination. 

"  As  to  reproof,  it  is  never  a  good  thing  for  the 
giver,  do  you  think  so  ?  "  continued  she,  after  a  pause, 
as  if  for  the  purpose  of  pursuing  her  advantage  again ; 
"  we  hate  him  if  he  is  correct,  because  he  has  discovered 
a  fault  of  ours ;  and  if  he  isn't  correct,  we  think  him 
foolish !  " 

"  But  it  isn't  what  the  recipient  of  his  reproof  thinks 
of  him  at  all,"  said  Charles,  suddenly  forgetting  him 
self,  and  becoming  warmly  interested  in  the  subject, 
abstractly  considered.  "  It  is  simply  whether  he  suc 
ceeds  or  not.  If  he  succeeds,  he  knows  he  has  conferred 
a  benefit ;  and  if  he  doesn't,  why — he  doesn't,  that  is 
all !  "  concluded  he,  slightly  at  a  loss  on  this  point. 

"  And  even  then  he  has  the  gratification  of  knowing- 
he  has  tried  to  do  good,  you  know !  "  said  the  girl. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Charles,  with  renewed  feeling,  "  and 
very  often,  instead  of  its  being  a  fault  Which  is  known 
by  the  one  we  reprove,  it  is  one  which,  for  the  first 
time,  we  discover  to  him." 

"  And  then,  if  he  is  not  a  worthless  being,"  added 
Dinah,  with  apparent  earnestness,  "  he  must  feel  a 
kindness  has  been  done  him,  yes." 

Charles  began  to  feel  generously  pleased.  He  saw 
that  poverty  and  misery  had  evidently  given  to  this 
girl  one  advantage :  she  had  already  learned  to  read  hu 
man  nature  with  facility,  as  though  Providence  had 
kindly  given  her  this  weapon  for  self-defence  at  starting 
in  her  journey  through  the  world.  Still,  he  further  re 
flected,  whatever  vices  she  may  have  also  learned  in 


DINAH.  Ill 

the  rugged  school,  she  was  enabled  to  conceal  by  means 
of  the  same  power,  perhaps.  He  was  about  to  resume 
the  conversation  again,  in  great  interest,  when  he  ob 
served  the  girl  gazing  at  him  earnestly.  At  the  moment 
there  appeared  to  him  a  sadness,  with  something  even 
akin  to  a  supernatural  expression  in  the  look. 

"  Oh,  pshaw  !  an  absurd  fancy  !  I  am  stupid,"  said 
he  quickly  to  himself.  She  had  risen  to  go. 

"  Where  did  you  live  before  you  came  here,  Dinah  ? 
Sit  down  a  moment,"  continued  he. 

"  In  New  York,  sir,"  she  replied. 

"  You  were  very  poor,  were  you  not  ?  You  have 
been  to  school,  I  see !  " 

"  Oh,  no,  sir  ;  never.  But  my  father  taught  school 
when  he  was  a  young  man,  and  when  I  was  growing 
up,  he  taught  me  as  much  as  he  could." 

"  What  did  he  do  in  the  city  ?    How  did  you  live  ?  " 

"  Some  time  before  we  came  here,  he  used  to — used 
to — he  was  employed  to  sweep  the  avenues.  For  a  long 
while  he  was  unable  to  obtain  work,  and  he  used  some 
times  to  drive  his  care  away,  by  going  to  the  political 
meetings  they  held  in  the  wards.  After  a  while,  be 
coming  familiar  there,  and  some  of  those  who  had  the 
power,  discovering  that  he  could  write  addresses  and 
notices  better  than  they,  they  accepted  his  assistance, 
and  gave  him  this  place  on  being  successful.  By-and- 
bye  he  was  dismissed,  as  the  alderman  who  helped  him 
had  been  sent  to  prison  for  burglary,  and  then — •" 

"Well,  what—  ?" 

"  My  mother  died,"  said  she,  pressing  her  closed 
hand  upon  her  knee.  "  Don't  you  think  it  ridiculous 
that  such  men  should  have  political  power  ?  " 

"  You  say  your  mother  died  ?  "  asked  Charles  ;  an 


112  DINAH. 

% 

unpleasant  thought  had  struck  him.  The  manner  in 
which  she  passed  over  that  emotional  event  in  her  nar 
rative  may  have  naturally  been  a  vehement  conceal 
ment.  From  its  very  perfection,  perhaps  it  was,  that 
it  seemed  to  him  the  indifference  of  heartlessness. 

"  Yes  !  "  continued  the  young  girl,  rapidly  smooth 
ing  her  dress  over  her  knee  with  both  hands ;  "  but 
perhaps  it  is  judicious  to  let  them  have  it,  inasmuch 
as  the  only  use  they  make  of  it  is  to  send  themselves  to 
the  States-Prison." 

"  And  the  trick  of  brazenness !  Can  she  be  affect 
ing  to  forget  her  father's  crime  too  ?  But  in  one  so 
young !  Can  it  be  true  that  she  is — ")  He  observed 
that  she  was  looking  at  him  and  blushing  deeply,  and 
even  now  when  she  started  again  quickly  and  with 
something  like  a  shudder,  this  too  seemed  to  him  to 
be  irritation  at  the  disadvantage  of  her  parent's  crime 
rather  than  shame. 

"  Stay  a  moment,"  said  he,  in  a  low  tone  under  the 
impulse  of  this  thought.  "  You  feel  angry  that  you 
are  living  in  a  glass  house,  don't  you  ?  " 

The  girl  seemed  to  observe  in  a  moment  the  change 
in  his  manner,  but  she  wore  a  faltering  look,  as  though 
she  knew  it  was  the  result  of  a  prejudice  which  she 
could  not  help. 

"  But  would  not  shame,  rather  than  anger,"  con 
tinued  he,  "  be  more  befitting  to  the  child  of  him  who 
committed  this  folly — of — " 

"  Oh  !  breathe  not  a  word  against  my  father,"  said 
she  suddenly,  with  her  nostrils  dilated,  and  standing 
erect.  "  A  father's  name  is  sacred  to  his  child,  and 
may  God  bless  those  who  shall  so  speak  of  mine 
to  me !  " 


DINAH.  113 

There  was  a  defiance  in  her  voice,  but  sorrow  too, 
and  they  both  struck  the  young  man. 

At  this  moment  his  mother,  who  had  just  returned 
from  her  drive,  came  into  the  corridor  from  a  door  near 
by,  and  looked  with  some  evidence  of  surprise  at  the 
two  standing  there  in  a  species  of  tableau.  She  ac 
costed  Charles  with  a  familiar  maternal  embrace,  and 
smiled  also  upon  Diana,  but  the  smile  curled  her  lip  in 
a  singular  way.  The  girl  bowed  decorously,  and  left 
the  mother  and  son  together. 


CHAPTER    XYI. 

OBADIAII   BAYLOR. 

THE  young  man,  Rudolph,  sat  in  his  stone  house  at 
the  close  of  day  in  company  with  his  overseer,  an  in 
dividual  physically  remarkable  for  having  a  curious 
weakness  in  his  legs,  and  an  irrepressible  lock  of  hair 
which  had  stuck  up  since  infancy  on  the  top  of  his 
head. 

The  bailiff  had  come  on  business,  but  observing  the 
young  man  engaged  in  a  kind  of  melodramatic  scene 
composed  of  passionate  starts  and  indistinct  soliloquies, 
he  had  simply  contented  himself  during  the  past  half 
hour  with  enacting  the  part  of  a  Greek  chorus,  by  sit 
ting  down  and  quietly  deprecating  the  whole  thing  to 
himself.  At  last  he  cachinnated  feebly. 

"  What  are  you  laughing  at,  fool  ?  "  said  the  young 
man,  suddenly  turning. 


114:  DIN  An. 

"  I  want — I  want  to  attend  to  business." 

"  I  suppose  you  want  to  go  off  and  pray  somewhere 
with  the  rest  of  your  brethren." 

"  I  am  older  than  you,"  said  the  bailiff.  He  had 
really  a  tendency  toward  religion,  and  felt  hurt. 

"  Take  your  accounts  off — I  won't  attend  to  them. 
I  am  tired  and  sick  of  my  follies,  and  the  imbecility 
of  my  way  of  living*,"  said  the  young  man  confusedly. 
"  Stay,  wait  a  moment,  Baylon — I  want  to  speak  to 
you  about — I  know  you  are  inclined  to  dissuade  me 
altogether  from  her,  for  some  reason  or  other — but  poor 
as  the  girl  is,  Obadiah,  she  has  now  inspired  me  with  a 
new  feeling — a  feeling  that  I  have  never  felt  before — I 
am  not  ashamed  to  confess  it — I  can't  help  it — I  even 
have  felt  like—" 

The  hitherto  impatient  chorus  appeared  to  be  a 
little  interested  and  surprised  at  this  point.  "  What ! 
ha  !  ha  !  "  interrupted  he,  "  you  don't  intend  to — " 

"  What  is  her  family  to  me  ?  "  continued  the  young 
man.  "  What  if  the  old  man  was  a  knave  ?  I  have 
no  relations  to  pursue  me,  and  I  don't  care  for  the 
world—" 

"  The  girl's  comeliness  has  driven  him  crazy ! 
Well,  this  is  the  most  stupid  thing  I  ever  saw ! "  re 
flected  the  other,  looking  at  his  own  countenance  in  the 
glass.  "  I've  got  to  handle  her  in  a  delicate  manner, 
anyhow,  in  the  midst  of  my  plans.  She  knows  me  too 
well.  She  has  a  sharp  eye  for  the  "singular  in  human 
natur'.  As  soon  as  I  have  any  improper  ideas,  she 
seems  to  know  it,  and  I've  got  to  be  really  virtuous 
when  I  am  about  her,  or  she'll  drive  me  from  her  pres 
ence.  Some  pattern  saint  watches  over  her,  I  guess ! 
who  won't  allow  any  one  else  wicked  near  her." 


DINAH.  115 

"  "What  is  all  this  sottish,  mummery  ? "  asked  the 
young  man,  starting  up  peevishly. 

"It  is  a  good  thing  for  you,  if  you  deceive  your 
self  into  the  belief  you're  serious,  it  will  make  your 
fancy  more  pleasant — "  said  the  bailiff  with  a  sugges 
tive  wink  to  the  clock,  being  inclined  to  play  with 
the  infatuation  of  the  young  man,  in  his  tendency  tow 
ards  humor. 

"  You  scoundrel,  your  eccentric  frankness  is  con 
sidered  your  peculiar  sanctifying  grace  among  your  re 
ligious  brethren — It  is  your  hypocrisy — you  are  con 
stantly  suggesting  evil  to  me.  You've  done  it  ever 
since  I  was  a  boy.  I'll  expose  you  in  the  chapel,  or 
make  such  remarks  as  that  again,  and  I'll  knock  your 
head  off,"  continued  the  young  man,  who  didn't  seem 
to  relish  the  other's  insinuations  just  at  that  moment. 

"  You  may,  if  you  will,"  replied  the  bailiff,  cring 
ing,  yet  murmuring  something  in  his  humorous  in 
stinct  about  having  it  knocked  off  himself,  or  at  least 
having  it  done  at  his  own  expense  to  save  him  the 
trouble.  "  But  have  I  not  in  this  matter  assisted  you 
without  your  knowing  it  ? "  continued  he,  sullenly. 
"  Did  I  not  accost  the  girl  again  yesterday  ?  "I  went 
to  see  her  father.  He  at  least  knows  what  a  friend  I 
can  be." 

"  You  did — Baylon — and  what — what  did  she  say 
— Obadiah  ?  " 

"  She  said — she  said — "  replied  the  other,  unable 
to  invent  a  lie  in  time — "  she  said — " 

"  What  did  she  say,  fool  ? "  asked  again  the  pas 
sionate  young  man. 

"  She  said,"  continued  the  bailiff,  rubbing  his  rest 
less  top-knot  in  great  difficulty,  "  that  she  appreciated 


116  DINAH. 

your  love — it  was  so  gentlemanly — yes,  she  said  that 
being  a  poor  girl  she  relied  upon  the — upon  the  god 
desses  who  watch  over  young  and  inexperienced  fe 
males,  and  she  said  she  wished — " 

"  You  lie,  scoundrel !  "  said  the  young  man.  The 
bailiff  had  perhaps  been  drinking  a  little,  and  was 
inclined  to  be  poetic.  "  If  you  say  I  lie,  I  do,  I  sup 
pose,"  replied  he  immediately,  with  a  heart-rending  def 
erence  of  opinion,  and  muttering  something  in  a  sullen 
tone  about  being  born  in  New  Jersey,  and  being  un 
able  to  help  it  anyhow. 

"  Leave  the  room  !  "  roared  the  young  man. 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  bailiff,  leaving  the  apartment, 
slightly  discomfited  with  his  failure.  He  uttered  in 
ternally  an  oath.  "  Let  him  talk  to  me  in  that  way,  I 
don't  mind  him.  1  can  manage  his  affairs  without  him, 
I  guess !  (with  a  sinister  look  of  mingled  humor  and 
wickedness.)  He's  downright  infatuated  with  the  girl ! 
Let  me  see — if  I  wish  to  succeed  in  my  plans,  I'll  have 
to  drive  her  from  that  place,  at  any  rate.  Her  honesty 
will  be  in  my  way  as  long  as  she  is  there,  but  I've  got 
to  be  friendly  too,  he !  he !  "  concluded  he,  feeling  of 
his  top-knot.  "Now  for  chapel.  They  think  I'm 
really  religious  there,  because  I  ain't  such  a  hypocrite 
in  my  language,  as  they  know  they  are  themselves,  he ! 
he !  That  is,  some  of  them,"  added  he,  in  a  kind  of 
superstitious  fear  of  real  virtue. 


DINAH.  117 

CHAPTEE    XYII. 


A   MORNING  HOUR. 


CHARLES  was  awakened  at  the  dawn,  by  the  low 
responsive  twittering  of  the  birds  in  the  trees.  A  deli 
cious  fragrance  was  wafted  into  his  chamber,  and  the 
brightness  of  the  day  was  coming.  Invited  from  his 
bed,  a  bath  of  pure  water  brought  a  glow  to  his  person, 
and  he  resolved  upon  a  morning  walk.  There  was  no 
one  stirring  in  the  house,  and  he  emerged  therefrom 
into  the  avenues  of  the  park.  Turning  into  a  secluded 
walk,  however,  he  discovered  young  Dinah  there,  up 
earlier  than  he,  gathering  a  flower  or  two,  and  with  her 
a  little  sickly  dog.  In  spite  of  the  calls  of  his  mistress, 
the  infirm  animal  fled  precipitously  at  the  young  man's 
approach,  to  without  stone's  throw,  and  wheeling  kept 
up  an  incessant  series  of  feeble  barks,  while  regarding 
the  enemy  with  an  idiotic  stare  from  his  rheumy  eyes. 
The  natural  blush  of  modesty  passed  over  the  girl's 
fresh  morning  countenance.  A  faint  red  tinge  was  in 
the  east. 

"  You  are  up  early,"  said  Charles,  "  before  Aurora." 

"  Oh,  no !  See  the  dew  she  has  poured  upon  the 
flowers !  " 

"  "Who  taught  you  the  offices  of  the  goddess  ? " 
asked  Charles. 

"  Father !  " 

"  Do  you  like  to  read  poetry  ?  "  said  he,  while  taking 
a  seat  on  a  bench  near  by. 

"  Yes-,  sir,"  said  she,  and  she  also  sat  down  at  the 
other  end,  with  a  look  of  confidence. 


118  DINAH. 

"  Perhaps  you  are  romantic  enough  to  write  a 
little."  . 

"  I  am  too  healthful,  I  think.  If  I  were  dying  of 
consumption,  I  would,"  replied  she,  smiling. 

"  Do  you  think  it  necessary  to  know  you  are  going 
to  die,  in  order  to  write  true  poetry  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  sir.  Only,  in  this  case,  my  writings  would 
have  at  least  one  recommendation — they  would  be 
dying  accents,  you  know." 

"  But  there  is  some  philosophy  in  your  remark. 
The  penning  up  of  one's  feelings  may  connect  the  two, 
may  make  a  good  poet  of  a  man,  and  give  him  the  con 
sumption  at  the  same  time,  may  it  not  ?  "  suggested 
Charles,  in  curiosity.  "  I  suppose  you  have  heard  of 
Keats,  he  died  of  consumption  and  too  much  poetry." 

"  I  thought  it  was  criticism.  That  is  what  I  would 
hate,  if  I  were  a  simple  poet,"  continued  she,  vivacious 
ly,  struck  with  an  idea  ;  "  but  if  I  had  any  hidden  mean 
ings,  I  would  like  criticism,  because  the  more  they  crit 
icise,  the  more  the  ends  of  the  concealed  relations  of 
your  thoughts  will  be  shown  to  make  necessarily  the 
face  you  have  given,  and  no  other." 

"  Yes,  it  is  so.  Do  you  think  I  would  make  a  good 
poet  now  ?  "  asked  Charles,  confidentially. 

"  If — if  you  tried,  I  don't  think  you  would  make 
any  thing  bad,  sir.  Still  that  is  it.  You  won't  try." 

"  But  I  don't  think  I  would  make  a  good  poet,  even 
if  I  tried.  My  emotions  have  a  constitutional  way  of 
getting  into  my  thoughts,  and  producing  a  disgust," 
continued  he,  quite  careless  of  his  idea. 

"  Your  emotions  get  into  your  thoughts  and  pro 
duce  a  disgust  ?  Oh,  I  think  you  would  make  a  suc 
cessful  poet,  sir!  The  more  unintelligible  poetry  is, 


DINAH.  119 

nowadays,  the  more  people  like  it !  "  continued  she, 
in  a  murmur. 

"  I  mean,  rather,"  said  Charles,  correcting  himself 
in  a  lively  manner,  "  that  I  have  no  emotions,  or  at 
least  that  they  are  not  strong  enough  to  make  me 
think.  I  have  tried  to  discover  an  enthusiasm,"  con 
tinued  he,  in  a  kind  of  self-felicitating  soliloquy.  "  I've 
tried  to  rejoice  in  my  future.  Even  the  business  of 
life  possesses  for  me  no  incentive  to  action !  " 

"  Then  why  do  you  not  occupy  yourself  with  some 
subject  which  has  no  relation  to  the  business  of  life, 
sir? "  said  Dinah,  logically." 

"But  there  is  no  subject,  no  subject  within  reach 
of  my  faculties  even,  which  would  excite  me !  " 

"  Perhaps  that  is  the  difficulty.  It  would  no  doubt 
be  highly  exciting  to  employ  them  upon  some  subject 
Avhich  is  placed  beyond  their  reach,"  said  Dinah,  writh 
continued  sprightliness. 

"  "What  one,  for  instance  ?  " 

"  Oh,  any  one  requiring  commonplace  or  ordinary 
ideas  !  "  said  she,  coolly. 

"  Such,  for  instance,  as  the  study  of  the  character 
of  a  young  person — let  me  see — about  fifteen !  "  said 
Charles,  immediately,  much  pleased  with  his  own  retort. 

"  Do  you  consider  the  contemplation  of  one's  own 
future  the  most  interesting  of  studies  ?  "  asked  she, 
permitting  him  to  remain  victorious. 

"  Yes,  of  course.  The  very  constitution  of  human 
nature  is  founded  upon  a  selfish  principle,  and  every 
man  is  the  first  object  of  his  own  solicitude !  "  con 
tinued  the  young  man. 

"  Well,  as  to  that — as  he  is  fitter  to  take  care  of 
himself  than  of  any  other  "person,  it  is  right  that  he 


120  DINAH. 

should  be  so  constituted,"  said  the  girl,  after  a  moment, 
with  cogency. 

"  But  a  man  fundamentally  considers  himself  and 
his  happiness  as  of  more  importance  than  that  of  all 
the  world  besides,  though  his  fellow-beings  don't  think 
so  by  any  means.  Thus  is  every  one  fundamentally  the 
enemy  of  the  rest  of  his  race,"  continued  he,  disposed 
to  ventilate  to  this  natural  philosopher  his  ideas  on  this 
unsatisfactory  subject. 

"  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  she,  flatly.  "  How  can  it 
be  otherwise  than  that  men  were  at  least  originally  con 
stituted  to  rejoice  in  the  prosperity  and  grieve  at  the 
misfortunes  of  each  other !  "  continued  she,  glancing 
around  the  earth  and  sky. 

"  !No,  it  is  the  other  way,"  said  Charles,  facetiously. 
"  They  were  constituted  to  smile  at  the  misfortunes  and 
weep  at  the  prosperity  of  each  other  !  Do  you  know," 
continued  he,  in  his  piquant  view  of  human  nature  and 
with  seriousness,  "  that  all  this  sympathy  of  ours  is  only 
an  exquisite  trick  of  the  imagination ;  that  it  is  only 
when  it  cheats  us  into  feeling  their  misfortunes  as  our 
own,  that  we  feel  for  others  ?  But  particularly  the 
possibility  that  we  can  sometimes  feel  a  pang  at  the 
prosperity  of  others,  shows  how  naturally  contemptible 
we  are !  " 

"  But  if  man  has  a  natural  power  which  corrects 
these  tendencies,  I  don't  see  how  he  is  naturally  con 
temptible,"  said  the  young  reasoner. 

"  But  this  power  of  the  imagination  is  an  unfortu 
nate  one,  which  is  not  strengthened  by  use.  The  more 
it  is  used  the  less  it  becomes !  " 

"  Well,  the  less  it  becomes  the  stronger  becomes 
the  simple  habit  of  doing  good,  you  know.  When  we 


DINAH.  121 

commence  to  do  good  from  principle,  instead  of  im 
pulse,  and  that  is  better,  isn't  it  ?  "  said  the  girl,  after 
thinking  awhile,  and  combating  bravely  for  the  human 
race. 

Charles  was  struck  with  her  brightness,  but  he  felt 
her  trueness  to  humanity  still  more.  Her  worcls,  taken 
in  connection  with  her  youth,  must  have  been  the  re 
sult  of  a  native  honor.  How  "could  it  be  otherwise, 
unless  she  was  endowed  with  an  almost  unheard-of  hy 
pocrisy.  Whatever  faults  she  had  then,  if  she  had 
any  at  all,  were  not  inherent,  but  only  the  result  of  her 
education  in  misery.  He  was  beginning  to  take  an  in 
terest  in  something  once  more.  It  would  be  pleasant, 
nay,  in  the  honor  of  his  nature,  he  even  began  to  feel 
it  was  his  duty  to  assist  her  in  extricating  herself  from 
the  consequences  of  her  father's  folly.  He  would  ban 
ish  the  inequality  of  their  positions,  in  offering  her  this 
assistance,  (a  willingness,  by  the  way,  which  he  might 
very  well  experience,  as  he  evidently  couldn't  help  it ;) 
and,  to  produce  the  necessary  confidence  in  her  bosom, 
he  would  make  her  consider  his  kindness,  even  as  an 
offering  of  friendship.  The  gratitude  of  such  a  bright 
nature  would  be  a  sufficient  reward.  But  how  if  he 
were  mistaken,  how  if  she  were  endowed  with  such  a 
cunning  as  to  be  amusing  herself  and  making  fun  of 
him  in  this  very  matter  ? 

The  girl  without  doubt  saw  the  general  tendency  of 
his  thoughts,  for  she  immediately  added,  as  if  for  the 
purpose  of  strengthening  their  favorable  bias,  "  It  is  this 
continued  distrust  of  human  nature  which  is  the  hor 
ror.  People  are  considered  guilty  beings  because  they 
are  human.  It  is  about  as  profound  a  principle  as  that 
by  which  they  are  considered  wicked  because  they  are 
G 


122  DINAH. 

poor."  There  was  a  bitterness  in  her  tone,  but  her 
voice  immediately  faltered.  "Why  ?  "Was  it  the  remem 
brance  that  she  could  not  rely  even  upon  the  fallacy  of 
either  of  these  principles,  in  the  struggle  against  so 
cial  prejudice  which  her  young  intelligence  saw  before 
her,  or  'was  it  a  temporary  conscience  of  her  own 
wickedness,  which  her  youth  might  have  naturally 
produced  ? 

"  You  have  shown  that  I  should  not  distrust  people 
because  they  are  human  !  "  said  Charles,  "  and  if  it  be 
reasonable,  to — to — distrust  the  education  of  poverty 
and  misery,  do  we  not  still  know  that  it  is  within  the 
power  of  the  very  human  sympathy,  which  I  would 
have  denied,  to  correct  that  education  ?  " 

The  liveliness  of  his  manner  produced  no  reply  from 
her.  She  had  bent  her  head  towards  the  ground,  and 
her  countenance  was  hidden.  When  she  looked  up  he 
thought  he  saw,  amidst  the  evidences  of  other  emo 
tions,  a  look  of  dissatisfaction,  Avhich  seemed  almost  a 
scorn  of  him.  Perhaps,  in  spite  of  her  antecedents,  she 
may  have  been  impatient  because  he  suspected  her  at 
all." 

"  I  begin  to  think  it  is  because  you  are  too  unselfish, 
that  you  are  unhappy,  sir,"  said  she,  after  a  moment, 
with  a  changed  air.  "  As  it  is  the  imagination  which 
creates  so  much  sensibility,  why  do  you  not  repress  it, 
or  at  least  turn  it  away  from  the  misery  of  others,  to 
the  world  of  roman<je  ?  Commence  to  chase  phantoms 
into  shadowy  solitudes ! "  continued  she,  earnestly, 
as  if  endeavoring  to  rescue  him  from  his  disagree 
able  state  of  existence  with  this  lively  yet  potent  di 
rection. 

"  I  would  do  so,"  replied  the  young  master,  disposed 


DINAH.  123 

to  laugh,  at  her  compliment  .to  his  sensibility-  and  his 
imagination,  "  but  I  might  get  scared.  I  would  if  you 
would  go  along  with  me.  Two  would  dare  to  go  fur 
ther  into  the  shadowy  solitudes  than  one !  " 

"  We  might  go  so  far  as  never  to  find  the  way  back 
again,"  said  Dinah,  with  equal  liveliness,  continuing 
the  absurdity.  "  Then  what  would  become  of  us  ?  " 

"  Why,  we  should  be  together,  wouldn't  we  ? " 
asked  Charles,  in  a  soft  way. 

They  had  risen  and  come  towards  the  house  to 
gether,  along  the  fragrant  paths  of  roses,  the  rheumy 
dog  following  at  an  interval  of  five  or  six  feet,  in  an 
uncertain  state.  The  sun  had  now  risen,  and  the  groves 
were  vocal  with  daylight's  songs. 


CHAPTEE  XVIII. 

AT   THE   CHURCH. 

IT  was  a  warm  Sunday  morning  when  the  gentry 
of  the  neighboring  district  assembled  in  the  ancient 
wayside  church  to  listen  to  Dr.  Fuines.  ISTo  breath  of 
air  disturbed  the  drooping  foliage  which  overhung,  in 
the  green  fulness  of  the  season,  the  sacred  mounds  around 
the  house  of  promise,  and  the  translucent  waves  of 
heat  trembled  above  the  landscape.  The  lazy  horses  of 
the  farmers,  standing  in  the  long  sheds,  or  attached  to 
the  shaded  railings  on  the  road,  stamped  irregularly 
and  whisked  their  tails  in  irritated  incessance  at  the 
serene  malignity  of  the  flies ;  while,  now  and  then,  one 
with  ears  reversed  and  a  short  squeal,  took  a  dental 


12i  DINAH. 

vengeance  upon  the  shining  integument  of  his  satiric 
neighbor,  for  some  sparkling  personality  in  their  silent 
conversation. 

The  assembled  flock  sit  within  the  walls  in  somno 
lent  files,  manufacturing  miniature  gales  with  their  fans 
of  palm.  The  blood  creeps  slowly  in  their  veins,  and 
the  lazy  thoughts  stick  in  their  minds.  Above  in  the 
gallery  the  little  Sunday-school  boys  and  girls  blink 
in  hushed  awe  at  the  pastor. 

The  young  advocate  Xat  unbuttons  his  white  vest, 
overcome  with  the  warmth.  A  new  and  overpowering 
odor  of.  mingled  wintergreen  and  peppermint,  dropped 
coxcombically  upon  its  lining,  reaches  the  sense  of  the 
gallant  Colonel's  wife,  seated  in  the  pew  in  front.  Her 
spouse,  who  had  caught  a  smell-less  cold  at  the  ball, 
has  just  innocently  commenced  to  blow  his  nose. 
"Put  up  that  terrible  handkerchief  directly,"  whis 
pers  she  impetuously  to  him.  The  aggrieved  spouse 
obeys,  and  sits  in  dumb  wonderment  at  the  singular 
command.  The  young  girl  Dinah,  dressed  in  neat 
attire,  and  sitting  in  one  of  the  retired  Pompney  pews, 
rises  to  give  her  seat  by  her  gray-haired  father,  to 
another  old  man  with  infirm  gait,  about  to  walk 
inquiringly  up  the  aisle.  A  weak  voluntary  is  swelling 
from  the  organ,  sounding  like  a  feeble  tuning  of  the  in 
strument,  and  now  at  last  the  sermon  commences. 
Morpheus  himself,  looking  in  at  the  door,  gives  one 
gasp  and  falls  in  invisible  sleep  upon  the  porch.  The 
Doctor,  in  the  course  of  his  admirable  discourse,  ex 
hibited  many  feats  of  mental  posturing,  which  certain 
ly  should  have  attracted  a  lively  attention.  But,  owing 
to  their  soothing  regularity  of  succession  perhaps,  the 
audience  manifested  their  sensations  in  the  quiet 


DINAH.  125 

manner  rather  of  opening  their  months  to  express 
their  wonder,  and  shutting  their  eyes  to  indicate  their 
delight.  When,  at  one  point  in  the  course  of  his  argu 
mentation,  he  had  got  by  some  mysterious  process  into 
reasoning  violently  in  a  circle,  which  he  couldn't  get 
out  of,  every  man  was  asleep  in  the  church  but  one, 
and  he  was  a  tinker  who  had  been  intoxicated  over 
Saturday  night.  It  had  the  singular  effect  upon  him 
of  keeping  him  painfully  wide-awake.  The  Doctor 
having  changed  his  ground  eleven  times,  and  begged 
the  question  six,  closed  his  discourse  in  some  such  man 
ner  as  the  following,  which  he  had  adopted  from  an  old 
divine,  and  which  he  was  then  convinced  was  the  per 
fection  of  style  in  human  language.  "  Though  I  often 
times  see  not  those  things  that  I  believe,  then,  my 
hearers,  yet  I  must  still  believe  those  things  that  I  see. 
Thus  do  I  believe  that  there  are  many  whose  peculiar 
ambition  it  is  to  be  ambitiously  peculiar.  If  they  may 
not  do  as  well  as  they  would,  they  would  not  do  as 
well  as  they  may.  Now  such  worldlings  would  pur 
chase  reputation  by  the  sale  of  desert,  but  the  wise, 
my  hearers,  the  wise  purchase  desert  even  at  the  haz 
ard  of  reputation.  These  poor  worms,  then,  have  great 
reason  to  be  ashamed  of  their  pride,  but  no  reason  to 
be  proud  of  their  shame ;  for  while  they  wish  to  be 
stored  in  their  wants,  they  may  be  said  to  be  decidedly 
wanting  in  their  store,"  etc.,  etc.  The  result  of  this 
admirable  and  awakening  discourse  was,  that  the  ad 
miring  audience  immediately  awoke. 

And  now  another  eccentric  series  of  reedy  fanfares, 
called  a  symphony,  emanate  from  the  vertical  pipes,  at 
the  frenzied  touch  of  the  impassioned  genius.  The  boy 
who  blows  the  bellows  blenches,  or  his  mind  is  wander- 


126  DINAH. 

ing  in  other  scenes.  'The  wind  rushes  fitfully  through, 
the  cacophonous  cylinders,  exasperating  Timotheus  and 
putting  him  out.  The  young  advocate  Nathaniel,  with 
one  or  two  others,  has  risen  to  circulate  the  mendi 
cant  plate,  for  an  extraordinary  charity  ;  and  towards 
the  completion  of  his  pious  tour,  he  speculates  hurriedly 
upon  the  propriety  of  placing  four  cigars  in  the  box, 
having  left  all  his  small  change  at  home.  Finally  the 
doxology  is  sung  with  quavering  voices,  and  the  assem 
bly  moves  slowly  towards  the  doors,  with  hushed  mur 
murs  of  gratification. 

Under  a  still  elm  away  from  the  church,  was  the 
grave  of  the  mother  of  Diana.  There  was  a  plain  tab 
let,  and  the  usual  simple  domestic  epic.  As  they  came 
out,  the  father  and  daughter  both  looked  that  way.  A 
thought  of  the  past  may  have  flashed  upon  the  young 
girl's  mind.  One  of  the  future  may  have  struck  the 
old  man.  As  they  walked  towards  the  grave,  the 
young  man  Rudolph  reached  them.  "  Do  you  wish  still 
to  avoid  me  ? "  asked  he,  of  the  girl,  with  a  moody  laugh, 
and  aside  from  the  father.  "  One  would  think  I  was  a 
pestilence !  Think  you  not  I  saw  the  glances  of  pre 
tended  idleness  of  your  master,  as  you  call  him !  "  The 
girl  said  nothing,  nor  appeared  hardly  to  notice  the  ex 
ternal  world,  as  she  walked  along,  and  the  young  man 
turned  to  join  Charles,  Laura,  and  Nat,  standing  around 
a  monument  to  admire  its  architecture. 

"  My  uncle's  tomb  ;  raised  by  my  only  relative  to 
himself,"  said  he.  "  He  did  his  best  to  show  me  the 
shortest  way  to  where  he  has  gone  himself!  " 

"  Yes,"  cried  Nat,  "  and  he  left  you  his  property,  I 
suppose,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  expediting  your  passage 
thereto ! " 


DINAH.  127 

\ 

"  He  was  a  fool,  anyhow,"  continued  Rudolph, 
in  his  unexpectedly  pleasant  manner,  "  and  if  he  had 
lived,  he  would  have  driven  me  to  be  a  knave,  because 
I  wouldn't  be  one  too." 

"  What  said  the  preacher  this  morning,  Rudolph," 
cried  Laura  indignantly,  as  she  moved  away  towards 
the  portico.  "  The  irascible  part  of  a  man's  nature 
was  given  to  him  to  assert  his  dignity,  by  repelling  in 
juries,  not  doing  them.  Fie !  and  to  the  memory  of 
your  dead  uncle." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Miss  "Well wood,  but  what  do 
I  care  for  what  he  said  ?  Have  not  we  all  our  own 
ideas  ?  "  continued  he,  to  the  young  men.  "  While  he 
asserts  the  falsities  of  religion,  I  prefer  to  speak  the 
truth  in  my  own  way." 

"  But  he  who  makes  the  truth  offensive,  Rudolph, 
encourages  error,"  said  Charles. 

"  I  tell  you,"  reiterated  Rudolph,  with  a  certain  in 
crease  of  gall,  "  that  I  will  utter  truths  in  my  own  way, 
even  if  I  have  to  curse  them  out  of  my  mouth." 

"  It  strikes  me,"  said  Charles,  "  you  had  better  bray 
them." 

"  You  are  a  miserable  knave !  "  cried  Rudolph,  with , 
a  sudden  burst. 

"  Heavens  !  Sunday  morning — you  retract,"  said 
Nat,  immediately  to  Charles,  "  and  of  course  Warris- 
ton  will.  You  say  so,  I  believe,  (to  Rudolph,)  of 
course,  it  is  quite  natural,  yes — I — !  " 

The  latter  not  only  saw  not  the  propriety  of  re 
tracting,  but  was  further  breathing  the  word  "  mum 
mer  "  through  his  teeth.  Charles,  turning  towards  him 
at  the  unexpected  power  of  his  repartees,  suddenly 
dropped  his  hand  as  quickly  as  he  had  raised  it.  He 


128  DINAH. 

moved  away  toward  his  aunt  and  the  carriage,  saying, 
carelessly,  "  "Well,  well,  good  morning !  "  and  left  the 
young  man  overwhelmed  in  the  confusion  of  his 
anger. 

Nathaniel,  having  at  this  point  rejoined  Laura  in 
the.  portico,  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  being  introduced  to 
the  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Norcomb,  with  whom  she  was 
conversing.  Had  she  noticed  it,  the  young  lady  would 
have  been  much  surprised  at  the  singular  manner  in 
which  they  all  three  looked  at  the  ceiling  at  the  mo 
ment. 

"  Oh,  it  was  Miss  Wellwood  there,  there  is  no  doubt 
about  it !  "  thought  the  Colonel ;  "  I  muffled  my  voice. 
I  don't  think  she  recognized  me,  but  he  has.  Several 
times  I  caught  him  looking  piercingly  at  me  in  the 
church.  Yes,  I  must  warn  him,  I  must  warn  him  to 
be  discreet." 

"After  all,  how  Frederick  would  scold  me,"  re 
flected  Mrs.  Norcomb.  "  Oh,  I  wouldn't  have  him  find 
it  out." 

"  His  wife  hasn't  mixed  me  up  in  it,  if  she  has  told 
him.  But  gracious !  she  may  thoughtlessly,"  said  the 
third  of  this  self-communing  trio,  while  the  salutations 
of  the  day  were  being  passed.  A  second  curious  phe 
nomenon  immediately  took  place.  The  three  com 
menced  to  tug  at  each  other's  habiliments  for  a  short 
moment,  in  a  furtive  but  exceedingly  energetic  man 
ner,  and  this  triangular  singularity,  of  which  Nat  was 
the  distracted  hypothenuse,  was  immediately  followed 
by  another,  which  consisted  of  a  violent  interchange  of 
winks  and  frowning. 

"  Oh,  the  deuce !  she  has  divulged,"  said  Nat,  sud 
denly  observing  the  Colonel.  He  hurriedly  reviewed 


DINAH.  129 

his  speculations  upon  the  latent  insanity  of  the  South 
ern  character. 

"  I  knew  it  was  she  there  with  you !  "  whispered 
the  Colonel  to  him,  and  looking  towards  Laura,  who 
had  at  this  moment  walked  away  with  Mrs.  Norcomb 
towards  the  carriages.  At  this  announcement,  Nat  was 
about  to  tuck  up  his  wristbands  in  rash  desperation, 
when  the  Colonel  added  hastily,  "  Never  mind,  you  say 
nothing  about  it  and  I  won't." 

"  "What  ?  "  asked  the  astounded  advocate. 

"  You  want  to  be  secret.  Her  relations,  I  know, 
wouldn't  like  it,"  said  the  Colonel,  complacently ;  "  but 
rest  assured  I  won't  say  any  thing  about  it." 

"  Eh,  I  think  I  will  go.  Good  morning,"  said  the 
bewildered  Nat. 

"  I  like  to  see  people  enjoying  themselves,"  con 
tinued  the  Colonel,  in  parting  confidence,  walking  along 
with  him,  "  and  in  this  little  affair  I  had  no  business  to 
have  seen  it  at  all.  I  know  you  have  really  fallen  in  love 
with  her.  I  saw  it  at  once,  and  these  stolen  meetings 
are  pleasant.  Any  time  you  wish  me  to  draw  off  the  at 
tention  of  the  people  about,  so  that  you  can  have  her  all 
to  yourself,  I  will  do  it  with  pleasure,  eh  ?  " 

Nat  had  heard  of  Parisian  morality,  and  also  of  some 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  natural  affinity  school,  but  in  his 
varied  speculations,  he  had  never  anticipated  such  a 
startling  possibility  of  depravity  as  this.  The  idea  of  a 
husband  affably  proposing  to  exert  himself  in  blinding 
the  attention  of  the  community  from  the  misdeeds  of 
his  wife,  was  simply  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of 
viciousness. 

"  But  there  is  one  thing,  you  won't  say  any  thing 
about  my  being  there,  eh  ?  My  wife  doesn't  know 
6* 


130  DINAH. 

it,  and  I  wouldn't  like  to  have  her,"  continued  the 
Colonel. 

("  The  depraved  wretch !  His  wife  at  least  is  inno 
cent.)  Allow  me  to  observe,  sir,"  said  Nat,  sternly, 
"  that  it  was  entirely  by  mistake  that  I  happened  to 
meet  her  there." 

"  Oh,  never  mind,  I  assure  you  I  shall  be  discreet," 
said  the  Colonel,  stopping. 

"  (Heavens  !) — but  I  now  free  myself  from  the  whole 
matter,  sir!  It  was  entirely  accidental,  entirely  acci 
dental,"  continued  the  excited  Nat,  "  and  I  should  have 
immediately  left  her  with  you  !  " 

"  What  ? " 

"  It  may  be  hard  work  for  her,  but  her  love  should 
be  bestowed  upon  you  alone.  It  is  your  duty  alone  to 
foster  it,  and  I  now  call  upon  you  to  foster  it." 

"  Hey  2  " 

"  For  the  sake  of  society,  at  least,  if  not  for  your 
own." 

("  He's  been  suddenly  sun-struck !  What  an  ab 
surd,  ridiculous  vagary  !  His  head  is  weak  !)  Your 
head  is  weak,  my  friend.  Here,  just  lean  on  me  and 
step  into  the  shade  for  a  moment." 

("  He  thinks  I  am  a  fool  for  refusing  his  rascally 
propositions !  My  duty  calls  upon  me  to  defy  him, 
and  by  heavens,  I  will  on  the  spot.)  Wretch  !  mis 
guided  being  !  You  carry  pistols.  Are  they  loaded  ? " 
said  Nat. 

«  No." 

"  Then  lend  me  one  and  follow  me !  "  continued  Nat, 
in  his  distraction.  "  Back  of  the  church,  and  at  thirty 
paces.  You  will  be  handy  to  the  graveyard  !  " 

"  What !  Wait !     It  is  Sunday  !     (What  the  deuce 


DINAH.  131 

has  got  into  him  !  Is  lie  infuriated  because  I  discover 
ed  him  there  ?)  I  say,  don't  you  see  it  is  Sunday  ?  " 

"  Gracious  !  so  it  is.  I  forgot.  Yes,  the  sacredness 
of  the,  hour  must  divest  me  of  a  consideration  of  this 
matter,  and  go,  sir ;  but  perhaps  to-morrow,  to-mor 
row,  sir,  you  may  hear  of  my  just  indignation  !  I  shall 
be  cooler,  at  any  rate  !  "  Here  he  bolted  off  distract 
edly,  towards  the  village. 

"  Heavens  !  what  is  it  ?  "  continued  he,  as  he  walk 
ed  along,  leaving  the  Southerner  regarding  him  in 
amazement.  "  There  is  something  in  this  terrible 
weather  which  makes  people  singularly  dry.  I  was 
really  thirsting  after  his  blood,  and  just  now  Warriston 
— Deuce,  I  forgot  to  hand  her  into  the  carriage,  or  even 
to  bow  to  her.  Oh,  dear  !  In  such  insidious  ways  as 
this  does  villainy  visit  itself  upon  innocent  parties." 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

A  DIVEESIFIED   VISIT   OP   OBADIAII   TO   POMPXEY. 

ON  the  following  "Wednesday,  Obadiah  Baylon 
made  his  appearance  at  the  Place,  with  an  apology 
from  Mr.  Warriston,  who  had  been  influenced  by  some 
thing  or  somebody,  to  send  a  letter  of  extenuation 
to  Charles  directly,  although  he  probably  gnashed 
his  teeth  while  writing  it.  The  latter  received  the 
missive,  and  read  it,  but  beyond  that,  he  took  no  notice 
of  it  whatever,  and  turning  away  from  the  ambassador 
with  an  impassive  countenance,  left  him  to  meditate 
upon  the  unexpected  drifts  in  sublunary  matters. 


132  DINAH. 

"  This  young  man's  stomach  evidently  rebels  against 
me !  A  man  without  politeness  or  bowels !  Of  course 
he  don't  know  what  a  companion  I  am,  as  he  is  a  man 
of  wealth  now,  and  I  am  only  one  who  is  going  to  be. 
But  I  can  be  instructive  while  sober,  and  whenever  I 
am  drunk  I  must  be  amusing." 

While  making  this  humorous  reflection,  and  repla 
cing  more  firmly  upon  his  head  his  hat,  which  the  top 
knot  had  been  gradually  moving  off  towards  the  back 
part,  he  observed  his  friend  Dinah's  father,  wending 
his  way  hastily  from  the  park  to  the  stable.  He 
commenced  to  follow,  when,  near  the  stable,  a  dog  of 
the  bull  species,  with  a  very  broad  muzzle,  thought 
it  his  duty  to  set  him.  Just  as  the  creeping  animal 
had  reached  his  calves,  and  was  contemplating  with 
sniffs  which  one  he  would  attack  first,  the  faint, 
suppressed  shriek  of  the  prospective  victim  called 
the  attention  of  the  old  man ;  and  benevolence  in  his 
mouth,  extricated  him  from  a  very  fine  set  of  teeth  in 
the  dog's.  "  He  is  an  animal  without  beauty,  but  evi 
dently  in  health,"  said  Baylon.  "  Teeth  inserted  at 
the  shortest  notice.  Tie  him  up  and  lend  me  that  hoe, 
and  I'll  beat  him  over  the  head." 

"  Do  you  want  to  see  me,  Obadiah  ? "  asked  the  old 
man. 

"  Yes,  I  thought  you  might  want  to  come  to  chapel. 
You  are  getting  comfortably  fixed  here  now,  and  you 
ought  to  come  over  and  hear  the  preaching." 

"  Well,  I  will — I  would  like  to,"  said  the  old  man, 
confusedly.  "  We  intend  to  pay  you  what  is  owing  to 
you,  pretty  soon.  You  mustn't  think  you  won't  get  it, 
Obadiah." 

"  Oh,  never  mind  that ;  haven't  I  alway  been  your 


DINAH.  133 

friend  ?  I  want  you  to  feel  that  way — and  by  the  way, 
you  must  make  Dinah  feel  so  too.  What  a  prejudice 
she  has  against  me  !  But  it  is  only  temporary,  I  know. 
Well,  good-bye.  I  see  you  don't  want  to  be  disturbed 
now.  Come  over  to  chapel  and  be  more  friendly, 
and  make  your  daughter  my  friend.  She'll  know  she's 
wrong  in  thinking  hard  of  me  ! — They  are  entirely  too 
comfortable  here.  If  I  want  to  go  on  in  these  parts,  I 
must  certainly  have  'em  out  of  this.  The  giii'll  get  pow 
er  of  her  own,  if  she's  left  here.  It's  her  nature.  Yes, 
I  will  seek  an  interview  with  the  lady  mistress  of  this 
"household,"  soliloquized  he,  as  he  walked  with  uncer 
tain  step  towards  the  parlor,  in  which  Charles's  mother 
was  sitting.  His  knees  were  the  abodes  of  a  constitu 
tional  weakness,  and  bent  inward  to  a  deep  extent,  as 
though  they  had  been  originally  jointed  the  Avrong  way. 
Although,  on  his  request  being  granted,  he  approached 
the  lady  with  the  timidity  which  such  a  nature  would 
have  in  presence  of  her's,  he  was  pleased  to  observe 
that  she  became  so  much  interested  in  the  conversation 
as  to  permit  him  to  continue  it,  even  after  he  had 
stated  to  her  the  pleasant  peacemaking  object  of  his 
visit,  and  to  listen  with  much  attention,  as  he  was  grad 
ually  led  to  refer  to  other  matters.  It  may  have  been 
simply  his  singular  humoristic  manner  which  rendered 
the  remarks  of  the  inferior  acceptable  to  the  lady,  but 
ever  so  little  of  the  poison  of  prejudice  is  a  powerful 
sweetener. 

The  conversation  lasted  some  time,  and  Obadiah  left 
with  the  conviction  that  the  devil  ramifies  his  business 
extensively  on  very  little  capital.  As  he  walked  off 
on  the  sward,  his  revery  was  interrupted  for  a  moment 
by  a  slight  episode  on  the  part  of  Colonel  Norcomb, 


134:  D  I  N  A  II . 

who  happened  to  be  preparing  his  gun  for  a  sylvan 
errand,  and  feeling  indefinitely  that  there  was  some 
thing  wicked  about,  was  disposed  to  try  the  efficacy  of 
his  instrument  upon  the  overseer.  "  Don't !  "  said  the 
latter,  laughing  at  the  humor  of  the  thing,  but  with  a 
frantic  gesticulation. 

"  Well,  I  won't  kill  you  now !  "  said  the  Colonel, 
still  drawing  his  aim  upon  him. 

"  Don't !  It  might  go  off  before  I  do,  sir.  Tell  him 
not  to,"  said  the  bailiff,  uneasily,  to  the  youth,  James 
Gluckinson,  who  appeared  to  be  joining  him  at  this 
point  in  a  stealthy  way,  for  some  purpose  or  other. 
His  equanimity  being  restored,  he  now  wended  his 
way  slowly  out  of  sight  of  the  house,  and  so  profound 
was  his  revery  into  which  he  fell  once  more,  that  he 
scarcely  noticed  the  youth  at  his  side,  accompanying 
him  in  mysterious  silence. 

"  She  has  licked  me  again,"  said  the  latter,  finally, 
in  a  mournful  whisper.  The  breezes  took  up  the 
whisper,  and  bore  it  off  to  the  home  of  the  smaller 
echoes. 

"  Eh,  what  ?— Yes  !— yes  !  "  said  Obadiah. 

"  Oh,  dear !  Mr.  Obadiah,  she  bullies  me  all  the 
time.  I  can't  stand  it !  "  (Another  silence.)  She's 
very  strong !  I'll  have  to  run  away  !  I  told  'em  at 
the  house,  and  they  laughed,  and  Misses  Adeline  said, 
'  Why,  what  can  exasperate  the  cook  so  against  him  ? 
perhaps  it  is  because  he  has  not  proposed  to  her !'  (A 
pause.)  She  wanted  to  put  me  in  the  water-butt  the 
other  day.  No  one  takes  my  part  except  Dinah. 
Dear  Miss  Dinah.  How  I  do  adore  her,  and  she  does 
me  now,  I  know.  First  she  pitied  me,  and  now  she 
loves  me,"  continued  he,  with  a  melancholy  chuckle. 


DINAH.  135 

"  What  is  that  ?  What  -were  you  saying — Dinah 
— what  ?  "  said  Baylon,  suddenly  arousing. 

"  Dear  Mr.  Obadiah,  the  cook  licked  me  to-day. 
She  nearly  strangled  me.  Please  tell  me  what  to  do. 
Nobody'll  help  me,  but  you,  who  are  a  Christying,  will." 

"  Resort  to  blessed  religion,  James,"  said  Baylon, 
with  a  secret  laugh,  as  he  mocked  the  honest  language 
of  some  of  his  brethren  of  the  chapel.  "  There — there 
only  can  be  found  consolation  for  the  troubles  which 
hedge  us  about  in  this  worldly  career,  of  any  kind, 
James.  Above  all,  bear  a  contrite  spirit." 

"  I  do.  She's  stronger  than  I  am,  and  I  have  to. 
Durn  her !  " 

"  No,  no,  swear  not.  Be  ever  humble  in  this  earth 
ly  sphere.  Better  even  than  anger,  to  invite  this  wo 
man  to  beat  you,  James." 

"  Oh,  there  is  no  need  for  etiquette.  She  doesn't 
mind  it.  But  please,  you'll  help  me.  'Tis  something 
I've  been  thinking  of,  and  it'll  stop  her  m'lignince  !  " 

"  Yes,  yes,  well — go  on,"  said  Baylon,  abstractedly, 
who  had  relapsed  after  his  humor,  into  his  revery 
again. 

("  Perhaps  he  won't  hit  back,  and  I  can  do' it  w,ith- 
out  lettin'  him  into  it.  No,  it  ain't  safe.)  Mr.  Obadi 
ah,  the  next  time  you  come  over,  I  want  you  to  let  me 
— you  won't  be  angry — it'll  scare  her.  I'll  just  punch 
your  head,  or  knock  it  against  the  wall,"  said  Gluckin- 
son,  softly. 

"  Eh,  knock  no  one's  head.  Let  me  see,  the  girl  is 
— Ever  have  a  contrite  spirit  and  humble,"  continued 
the  absorbed  Baylon,  echoing  his  humor. 

"  It's  better  if  I  drew  blood ;  I'd  seem  more  fero- 
gious.  But  if  you  say  so,  I  won't.  I'll  just  threaten  to 


136  DINAH. 

do  it.  I'll  take  up  a  bottle,  and  pretend  to  throw  it, 
eh,  is  it  agreed  ?  " 

"  Yes — yes — well — James, — I  am  thinking  of  mat 
ters." 

""Well,  you  remember — it's  agreed  now.  You 
mustn't  go  to  confusing  me,  by  saying  any  thing  harsh." 

Baylon  quite  engrossed  with  his  own  thoughts,  still 
nodded  upon  general  principles,  and  from  fear  that  the 
agreement  might  be  revoked  in  some  way,  Gluckinson 
at  once  artfully  turned  the  conversation  upon  pirates. 
Finally,  as  he  was  about  leaving,  having  awakened  the 
overseer's  attention  by  some  singular  ideas  which  he 
put  forth  in  deference  to  him,  upon  the  compatibility 
of  that  romantic  profession  with  a  devotional  nature, 
he  enthusiastically  concluded  to  continue  with  him 
through  the  wood,  especially  as  the  cook  was  in  the 
rear  ;  and  commenced  to  regale  him  with  the  thrilling 
story  of  a  pleasing  and  accomplished  Corsair,  who  in 
the  terrible  fulfilment  of  his  stormy  yet  fascinating 
career,  cut  the  throats  of  a  whole  ship's  company  which 
he  had  captured,  save  one,  whom  lie  reserved  for  the 
experimental  purpose  of  skinning  alive,  having  in 
vented  a  new  method  in  some  studious  moments, 
which  for  novelty  and  exquisite  torture,  he  flattered 
himself  had  never  before  been  equalled.  The  denoue 
ment  was,  that  this  person  turned  out  to  be  guilty  of 
the  meanest  kind  of  ingratitude ;  for  having  accosted 
the  Captain  one  morning  on  deck,  with  "  Good  morn 
ing  ;  it  is  damp  weather,"  he  immediately  spitted  him 
with  a  long  sword,  as  he  was  about  replying  "  Yes,  I 
think  we  will  have  rain,"  and  leaving  the  instrument 
sticking  in  his  abdomen,  walked  forward  to  converse 
further  with  the  busy  sailors  on  the  weather,  and  other 


DINAH.  137 

interesting  subjects.  This  narrative  pleased  Obadiah 
very  much ;  but  still,  he  said  he  felt  sorry  the  hero 
was  killed. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

IN   THE   WOOD. 

DIANA,  returning  from  a  visit  to  the  negroes  living 
by  the  lake,  kept  her  pace  through  the  midwood.  The 
kindled  grace  of  health  still  glowing  on  her  cheek,  thus 
slighted  the  wooing  coolness  of  the  shade  ;  but  her  lan 
guid  foot  in  returning  elasticity,  acknowledged  its 
gratefulness.  As  she  pursued  her  springing  steps  like 
the  forest  doe,  amid  the  changing  scene,  a  pensiveness 
stole  upon  her  face.  Perhaps  there  was  a  young 
heart  singing  its  silent  praise  to  Him  who  'made  the 
solemn  aisles ;  a  bright  mind  bowed  in  philosophic 
contemplation  of  the  varied  beauty  of  His  work.  The 
growing  sound  of  a  waterfall  waked  her  being  from  its 
revery,  and  charmed  her  steps  by  the  dewy  softness 
of  its  murmur,  towards  its  incessant  flood.  At  the 
gnarled  foot  of  an  elm,  around  whose  trunk  the  grace 
ful  woodbine  wrought  its  embrace,  the  young  girl  cast 
ing  upon  the  dark  velvet  grass  her  summer  hat,  seated 
herself  in  pleasant,  negligent  rest.  In  such  places  as 
these,  a  species  of  fine  wordless  reasoning  is  apt  to  be 
inspired  in  the  bosom  of  the  melancholy  wanderer, 
finding  a  temporary  rest  from  the  persecution  of  mis 
fortune,  or  in  the  bosom  of  those  more  unhappy  beings 
who  are  flying  from  the  consciousness  of  their  own  vice. 


138  DINAH. 

In  the  simple  ecstacy  of  an  hour  with  nature,  they  are 
made  to  feel  that  God  is  good,  even  when  He  seems  to 
reward  the  virtuous  with  suffering,  or  punish  the  guilty 
with  success. 

The  girl  rose  with  a  vivacious  air.  She  saw  the 
black  flood  rolling  lazily  over  the  low-resounding  rocks 
just  above,  with  now  and  then  an  idle  dash  of  foam ; 
while  in  front  of  her,  and  beneath  the  slow  eddies  cir 
cling  on  the  bosom  of  the  widening  basin,  the  rays  re 
fracted  from  the  white  pebbles  of  the  bottom,  met  her 
sight.  She  unhooked  her  dress,  which  parted  over  her 
bosom,  and  falling  in  loose  folds  on  either  side,  fluttered 
gently  as  an  occasional  breath  of  air  strayed  from  the 
deep  recesses  of  the  grove.  Upon  a  leafy  branch, 
overhanging  the  opposite  side  of  the  musical  stream, 
a  squirrel  had  placed  himself,  and  was  expressing  his 
astonishment  and  gratification  at  the  gentle  presence 
of  the  new  comer,  by  numberless  affable  frisks  of  his 
caudal  bush,  and  a  merry  twinkle  of  his  black  eye. 
The  trout  darted  to  and  fro  in  their  liquid  home,  now 
and  then  adding  a  dimple  to  the  surface,  as  they  jumped 
with  a  snapping  sound  at  the  dancing  fly,  or  the  unfor 
tunate  long-legs,  sprawling  on  the  winding  current. 
Besides  these  sounds,  some  few  slighter  touches  of  har 
monious  eloquence  from  nature  might  be  heard,  such 
as  the  fall  of  a  twig,  the  rustle  of  a  leaf,  or  the  alight 
ing  of  a  vigorous  grasshopper.  It  was  now  the  dead 
hour  of  noon,  and  the  birds  had  ceased  their  songs  and 
retired  to  concealment  within  the  thicket.  Unclasping 
the  buckle  of  her  shoes  and  removing  her  stockings,  the 
young  girl  placed  her  feet  in  the  refreshing  stream. 

A  kind  of  being,  known  to  the  imagination  of  the 
classic  age,  when  depicted  upon  the  canvas  or  eclogic 


DINAH.  139 

page,  are  represented  as  men  with  short,  crooked  horns 
sprouting  from  their  heads,  and  the  more  decided 
in  bad  character,  with  the  feet  and  legs  of  goats. 
They  were  the  retainers  of  the  drunken  god,  and  in  his 
mad  orgies,  the  latter  were  especially  conspicuous  for 
their  riotous  obliquities.  The  superstitious  peasant 
of  the  golden  ages  offered  to  these  sylvan  monsters  his 
first  fruits ;  while  the  girl  of  his  love,  as  she  passed  in 
the  grove  at  the  twilight  hour,  asked  protection  of 
heaven  against  them.  While  Dinah  bent  over  the 
rushing  stream  of  the  "  Indian  maiden's  fountain  "  in 
the  sequestered  depths,  lingering  in  girlish  delight  as  it 
parted  around  her  legs,  two  of  these  beings,  who  might 
have  come  down  from  classic  ages  through  Indian 
scenes  and  forests  to  the  present  time,  lay  secreted  in  a 
thicket  near  by,  and  within  passionate  view.  One  was 
an  old  and  malignant  satyr, — the  other  a  faun,  possess 
ing  a  youthful  face,  the  lines  of  which  indicate  a  good 
heart  within.  As  they  lay  concealed,  the  elder  monster 
whispered  to  the  younger,  that  this  lonely  being,  sim 
ple  as  she  was  in  her  mortality,  was  the  associated 
favorite  of  more  than  one  goddess ;  that  while  Cythe- 
rea  had  fastened  around  her  waist  the  zone  conferring 
radiant  beauty,  Diana  had  thrown  about  her  the  halo 
of  virtue,  and  Minerva  had  given  her  the  kiss  of  im 
mortal  wit ;  and  that  he  didn't  like  to  meet  her. 

"  I  guess  I  won't  say  any  thing  to  her  now,"  said 
he,  "  and  we  won't-  disturb  her.  I'm  afraid  of  the 
gods." 

As  they  walked  away  in  quiet,  he  began  to  con 
verse  with  the  faun  upon  other  subjects,  and  com 
menced  particularly  to  inquire  with  reference  to  his 
own  reputation  among  those  with  whom  his  companion 


140  DINAH. 

dwelled.  "  Do  they  ever  say  any  thing  of  me  over 
your  way  ? " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  young  and  truthful  faun,  "  I  heard 
'em  the  other  day ! — they  said  you  were  one  of  the 
biggest  scoundrels  that  ever  lived." 

"Well,  well,  that  will  do,"  replied  he,  quickly 
changing  the  subject  to  other  and  more  agreeable 
matters,  and  now  falling  into  an  evil  revery. 

On  the  way  the  younger,  who  went  foremost,  held 
a  bough  innocently  to  let  his  companion  come  through 
the  thicket  unmolested,  but  relinquishing  it  too  soon, 
knocked  him  against  a  tree  with  great  violence,  and 
caused  him,  in  the  manner  of  the  poet  Horace,  to  damn 
the  man's  great-grandfather  who  planted  it. 


CHAPTEE    XXI. 

NAT     AND     THE     SOUTHERNERS. 

MRS.  ISToKCOMB  made  up  her  mind  to  divulge  her 
escapade  to  the  Colonel. 

"  Do  you  know,  Fred,  I've  been  very  foolish,"  said 
she,  as  they  were  retiring  one  night. 

"  More  than  usual  ? "  asked  the  Colonel,  blandly. 

"  Oh,  no  ;  but  I  allude  to  it,  because  it  is  a  case  in 
which .  it  has  not  been  the.  result  of  my  usual  confi 
dence  in  you.  It  was  all  by  myself.  I  went  alone  to 
the  ball  the  other  night." 

ft  What  ?  Eh  ?  "  said  the  Colonel,  quite  astonished. 
"  I  didn't  see  you.  I  didn't—" 

"  I  know  it.     I  wanted  to  surprise  you.     I  took 


DINAH.  14:1 

Dinah,  and  we  drove  in.  together.  It  was  late  when 
we  arrived,  and — and  I  didn't  succeed  in  getting  intt> 
the  ball-room,  for — for — as  I  was  crossing  the  park 
to  reach  the  ladies'  dressing-room,  a  person  who  im 
agined  he  knew  us,  approached  us,  and — " 

"  Oh,  the  deuce  !  " 

"  I  didn't  know  him.  I  couldn't  see  him.  I  think, 
however,  he  was  shorter  by  a  head  than  you,  at  least. 
As  he  immediately  commenced  to  pursue,  I  ran  back 
to  the  carriage." 

"  Oh  dear,  enough,  I  forgive  you.  You  escaped, 
and  I  forgive  you,"  said  the  Colonel,  hastily  at  this 
point. 

"  I  knew  you  would — " 

"  Yes,  yes,  certainly.  (If  my  wife  was  running 
away  from  a  man,  under  the  very  same  circumstances 
under  which  I  was  chasing  a  woman,  and  there  was 
any  impropriety  in  the  circumstances,  it  is  my  duty  to 
forgive  her  at  the  very  least !  ") 

"  But  I  want  to  tell  you  all  about  it,  you  who  are 
so  watchful  for  me — such  a  faithful  husband  to  me 
always — " 

"  Oh,  never  -mind,  never  mind  !  "  said  the  Colonel, 
wincing  slightly.  "  It  is  enough,  I  forgive  you  !  (Gra 
cious,  a  suspicion  suddenly  comes  over  me  !  ") 

"  I  encountered  Mr.  Bonney,  the  young  lawyer — " 

("  Oh  the  devil !  It  was.  It  accounts  for  his  in 
sanity.  In  my  mad  career,  I  was  chasing  my  own 
wife.  What  if  she  should  find  it  out,  after  what  I 
said  !  Confound  the  French  novels  !  ") 

"The  wretch,"  continued  the  wife,  with  a  slight 
smile,  "  the  wretch  who  caused  my  fright,  (That's  me  ! 


142  DINAH. 

There  is  no  doubt  about  it,  it  was  a  wretched  idea !) 
eame  along  stumbling  in  the  dark — " 

"  Yes,  and  the  scoundrel  attempted  to  speak  to  you 
— the  impudent  rascal  ventured  to  say  something," 
said  the  Colonel,  with  a  violent  gesture.  ("  I  must  ap 
pear  heated !  ") 

"  Yes,  although  lie  was  careful  enough  to  conceal 
his  identity.  After  some  few  minutes'  parley,  being 
probably  intimidated  and  frightened,  you  know,  ha ! 
ha  !  by  the  superior  presence  of  the  young  lawyer,  he 
went  away — not  without  advising  the  young  man, 
however,  to  knock  my  husband  down  if  he  should  meet 
him.  Think  of  it — to  knock  you  down !  I  believe, 
too,  he  said  something  even  about  gallantry,  demand 
ing  that  he  should  offer  to  kiss  my  hand  at  least,  -which 
for  the  time  apparently  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
the  young  man,  as  he — " 

"  He  didn't,  did  he  ?  (Calhoun  !  What  a  retribu 
tion  for  my  impropriety !  I  advised  him  to  do  this 
very  thing,  and  to  knock  myself  down,  if  I  should  in 
terfere  !) 

"  Oh  no,  he  carried  me  safely  to  the  carriage,  where 
I  found  Dinah,  who  had  been  separated  from  me." 

"  Ah,  I  like  him.  I  must  see  him  immediately,  and 
thank  him,  (and  warn  him,  by  Calhoun !)  Sue,  we 
don't  know  this  miserable  individual.  Perhaps  on 
this  occasion  only,  Susan,  he  went  so  far  as  to  forget 
himself,  by  way  of  experiment  you  know,  may  be.  At 
any  rate  we  can't  find  him  out  just  now,  and  say  noth 
ing  about  it  at  present,  eh  ?  " 

"  Well  I  don't  know,  but  I  am  so  glad  I  have  told 
you,  and  now  I  feel  happy,  Fred — don't  you  ? "  said  the 
young  lady  with  a  smile. 


DINAH.  14:3 

"  Oh  yes,  yes  !  After  all,  it  may  have  been  rather 
the  result  of  circumstances  than  any  thing  else,  eh,  don't 
you  think  so,  the  result  of  circumstances  ?  However, 
I'll  go  immediately,  and  see  if  the  young  lawyer  knew 
the  unprincipled  wretch.  If  I  find  him,  I  don't  know 
whether  I  shall  kill  him  or  not.  (At  any  rate,  I  might 
safely  promise  her  to  be  present  on  the  occasion  of  my 
dissolution.") 

The  Colonel  went  to  town  the  very  next  morning, 
and  thus  the  young  lawyer  Nathaniel  was  soon  pleas 
antly  relieved  of  a  stern  duty,  which  he  had  been  re 
volving  the  performance  of,  in  consequence  of  his  brief 
intercourse  with  the  Colonel,  and  which  he  had  re 
solved  should  consist  in  the  erection  of  a  stage  in  front 
of  his  office,  the  calling  of  a  public  meeting  thereat, 
and  his  denouncing  to  the  citizens  from  his  elevated 
position,  in  unmeasured  terms,  the  unworthy  character 
of  the  Southerner  sojourning  in  their  midst ;  and  fur 
ther,  as  the  latter  conjured  him  not  to  let  his  wife 
know  that  he  was  the  derelict  individual,  and  as  soon 
thereafter,  the  wife  conjured  him  not  to  let  her  hus 
band  know  she  knew  it  was  he,  he  promised  them  both, 
and  thus  became  the  intimate  friend  of  both,  and  con 
fiding  to  them  in  return  the  secret  of  his  love,  sought 
much  after  their  society  for  consolation. 

Coming  up  one  morning,  for  instance,  to  the  Place, 
with  sporting  intentions,  and  seeking  the  Southerner's 
apartments,  he  discovered  symptoms  of  suppressed  ex 
asperation  upon  the  countenance  of  the  latter. 

"  Sue  is  always  wanting  to  wait  upon  me,  and 
fatiguing  herself  with  my  wants.  I  saw  you  coming  up 
with  your  gun,  and  I  thought  I'd  better  be  putting  on 
my  boots,  when  she  insisted  on  getting  them  for  me, 


144:  DINAH. 

instead  of  sending  for  those  rascally  niggers  ;  and  now 
she  has  gone  to  see  after  my  gun.  She  is  always 
watching  for  opportunities  of  this  kind,  to  wear  her 
self  out."  (Kicking  one  of  his  slippers  into  the  air  in 
a  rage.) 

"  Do  you  know  what  I'd  do  now,  if  I  had  a  wife 
who, would  commit  such  an  enormity?  I  wouldn't  put 
'em  on  after  she  brought  'em.  I'd  hunt  in  my  slippers." 

"  These  boots  must  have  cost  a  great  deal  of  nightly 
vigil  to  the  ingenious  individual  who  made  'em. 
They  are  too  small  in  seven  places,  and  too  large  in 
four.  It's  my  wife's  idea,  instead  of  permitting  me  to 
buy  my  habiliments  at  regularly  accredited  places, 
she  insists  upon  my  going  into  dark  alleys,  and  other 
obscure  places,  to  patronize  attenuated  tailors  and  boot 
makers  who  happen  to  have  a  large  family  of  small 
daughters.  I  have  my  revenge,  however ;  I  go  there 
furtively  on  other  occasions,  and  kick  'em.  My  hair 
will  want  cutting  pretty  soon,  and  I've  no  doubt  she'll 
find  some  individual  who  will  propose  to  do  it  with  a 
hatchet—" 

"  His  family  being  at  dinner  with  the  shears  !  " 

"  Yes — There's  my  wife  down  there  now,  with  that 
girl  Dinah  !  Not  a  solitary  nigger  glads  the  scene.  I 
rather  think  they've  gone  off  to  enjoy  the  rum  of 
some  abolitionist  about  here,  exhorting  them  to  fly. 
It  is  quite  probable  he  will  not  succeed,  but  I  still 
have  hopes,"  continued  he  with  a  cheerful  air.  "  I 
begin  to  feel  better.  Do  you  know,  Nathaniel,  that 
that  young  girl  Dinah  there,  is  a  good  girl.  There  is 
many  a  sermon  to  human  nature,  in  the  actions  of  girls 
of  her  age ;  and  besides  that,  every  word  she  utters  ap 
pears  to  have  been  dipped  previously  in  common  sense. 


DINAH.  145 

My  wife  loves  her,  and  so  do  I  as  far  as  my  wife  will 
let  me.  She  is  a  good  girl.  There  isn't  any  one  about 
here  that  can  compare  with  her.  No,  not  one." 
\  "  Look  here,  I've  no  objection  to  your  making  that 
statement  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  here,  but  do  you 
mean  to  assert  that  Miss  Wellwood  is  not  the  most  re 
markable  specimen  of  spirit,  education,  common  sense, 
and  brilliancy  of  complexion  who  ever  lived,  or  who 
ever  is  going  to — do  you  mean — " 

SOUTHERNER,  (maliciously).  "  Why,  Laura  is  a  very 
good  girl,  but  do  you — do  you  think  she — is  much- — do 
you  think  that—" 

NAT.  "  By  Jove  !  this  is  unexpected  and  infuria 
ting.  Have  you  got  your  pistols  with  you  ?  I  pro 
pose  that  we  stand  off  at  ten  paces,  and  try  a  shot  at 
one  another." 

SOUTHERNER.     "  With  all  my  heart." 

NAT.     "  On  the  whole  I  conclude  I  won't ;  but — " 

SOUTHERNER.  "  Oh  do.  It  will  put  you  out  of 
misery  ! " 

"  Whenever  I  mention  her  name,  Colonel,  I  feel  a 
vacuum  here,"  said  Nat,  laying  his  hand  upon  his  fore 
head,  but  quickly  changing  it  to  his  bosom.  "  The 
raging  fires  of  my  hope  are  e'en  now  almost  consumed, 
and  I  feel  I  shall  be  obliged  to  carry  about  inside  of 
me,  for  the  rest  of  my  wearied  existence,  the  gloomy 
crater  of  an  extinct  volcano." 

"  An  awful  load  !  " 

"  It  is  singular ;  the  more  I  show  my  devotion  to 
her,  the  more  coldly  she  treats  me.  The  other  day  on 
leaving  her  residence,  when  I  asked  her  if  there  was 
any  thing  I  could  do  for  her  in  the  village,  she  said, 
'  Yes,  stay  there  ! '  To  be  sure,  she  said  she  was  com- 
7 


14:6  DINAH. 

ing  over  herself ;  still,  on  the  whole,  it  was  unsatisfac 
tory." 

"  Why,  Nat,  what  a  fool  you  are !  You  must  affect 
indifference  for  her.  You  must  rouse  her  pride  !  It  is 
the  chief  spur  to  women's  feelings,  the  vain  creatures !  " 

"  I  can't.  How  shall  I  do  it  ?  She  makes  me 
blind.  She  blinds  my  understanding  with  her  wit,  and 
my  eyes  with  her  beauty." 

"  How  ?  Sit  down  with  your  back  to  her  for  in 
stance.  Laugh  when  she  says  any  thing  serious,  and 
look  solemn  when  she  attempts  any  thing  facetious. 
Put  your  hands  under  your  coat  tails — if  it  were  only 
winter  now,  and  there  was  a  fire,  you  might  lift  them 
up.  There  is  nothing  so  fearful  to  woman  as  indiffer 
ence,  it  is  worse  than  hate.  Do  you  take  snuff?  Take 
snuff,  but  refrain  from  sneezing ;  it  will  argue  superi 
ority." 

"  Great  heaven  !  lift  up  my  coat  tails,  it's  brutal." 

"  It's  philosophical.  I've  tried  it.  Just  think  of 
it." 

"  Think !  I  have  been  really  so  much  occupied  with 
my  emotions,  I  haven't  had  time  to  think,  and  yet  I 
feel  I  could  talk  in  an  inspired  way  to  her  now, — in  the 
language  of  poetry." 

"  Don't  you  do  it.  Confine  yourself  to  prose ;  you 
might  scare  her." 

"  Ah,  that  beaming  eye,  brighter  than  all  others  !  " 
commenced  Nat. 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  she  has  got  one  eye 
brighter  than  the  other  ?  I  never  noticed  that." 

"  Oh,  the  maddening  sparkles  of  her  beaming  eyes," 
said  Nat,  reiterating  his  thought  in  a  different  form. 


DINAH.  147 

"  "Well,  to  use  a  maritime  expression,  in  a  modified 
manner,  bless  her  eyes,  I  say.  Let  us  go  a  hunting." 

The  two  hunting  dogs  who  usually  accompanied 
ISTat  and  the  Colonel,  were  eating  their  breakfast  out  of 
a  common  dish.  One  of  them,  the  lean  one  with  a 
broad  face,  had  just  walked  away  with  the  principal 
bone  of  the  meal,  slily  abstracted  from  the  platter,  in  a 
moment  of  unguardedness  on  the  part  of  the  other  and 
fatter  one,  who,  having  raised  his  head  with  a  snuffle  of 
astonishment,  was  now  gazing  at  him,  with  intense  dis 
gust  visibly  expressed  upon  his  countenance.  . 

"  She  is  a  goddess,"  continued  Nat,  as  they  walked 
towards  the  stables,  in  ecstatic  rhapsody  upon  the  ob 
ject  of  his  emotions,  "  although  there  is  no  goddess 
who  has  her  mortal  beauty ; "  and  thereupon  he  raised 
his  gun,  and  fired  into  the  old  oak  under  which  they 
were  passing,  partly  as  a  salute  in  honor  of  his  love, 
and  partly  to  clean  out  the  instrument  of  sylvan  war 
fare.  An  ancient  owl,  who  had  been  sound  asleep 
in  the  tree,  slowly  digesting  the  last  chicken  he  had 
eaten,  fell  at  his  feet.  If  the  aged  bird  had  had  time, 
he  would  probably  have  not  been  less  astonished  than 
Xat  was,  at  this  unexpected  occurrence.  As  it  was  he 
had  given  up  digesting  earthly  chickens,  on  the  instant, 
and  his  spirit  had  immediately  flown  to  roost  in  some 
venerable  tree  in  celestial  fields. 


148  DINAH. 


CHAPTEE    XXII. 

THE    FATES   SIMPEE. 

IT  was  a  still  July  night,  when  Charles,  who  had 
prolonged  his  visit  to  the  residence  of  Dr.  Fumes  until 
past  midnight,  started  beneath  the  moon  towards  his 
home.  The  intellectual  excitement  caused  by  the  con 
versation  with  his  friend  and  pastor,  still  possessed 
him,  as  he  walked  along  gazing  at  the  tranquil  land 
scape,  or  the  chaste  planet  as  she  ever  and  anon  entered 
a  cloud  and  quickly  emerged  again. 

The  clergyman  loved  the  son  almost  as  much  as 
he  had  once  loved  the  mother,  and  his  naturally  senti 
mental  temperament  had  discovered  itself  in  this  con 
versation,  tinging  his  thoughts  with  romance.  Charles, 
excited  with  the  glowing  images  brought  from  the  pas 
tor's  stores  of  poetic  literature,  resolved  to  deviate  from 
the  road  to  his  residence,  and  passing  circuitously  by 
the  lake,  view  its  scenery  in  the  pleasant  silence  of 
the  midnight  hour.  The  last  subject  of  the  conver 
sation  recurring,  the  young  man  as  he  pursued  his  way, 
thought  rather  with  the  pulses  of  his  heart  than  his  in 
tellect,  of  the  sweet  lingering  hours  of  Puritan  love  in 
early  New  England  ;  of  the  blooming  lips  of  laughter, 
and  eloquent  cheeks,  which  graced  the  clergyman's 
female  ancestry.  The  life  of  gilded  youths  generally 
damages,  by  rude  over-use,  that  delicate  machine  which 
is  placed  in  the  human  bosom  to  manufacture  feeling 
for  its  possessor.  In  its  ill-used  condition,  it  gener 
ally  produces  disquiet  instead  of  happiness.  Charles 
felt  more  sorrow,  because  these  women  were  in  the 


DINAH.  149 

dust,  for  instance,  than  pleasure  at  the  recital  of  their 
loves. 

The  narrow  by-road  which  he  had  taken,  as  it 
neared  the  lake,  passed  through  a  forest,  whose  pre 
cincts  the  light  of  the  moon  could  not  penetrate,  save  at 
intervals  in  the  cleft  thus  made  by  the  road,  which 
wound  along  like  a  spotted  snake,  now  in  shade  and  now 
in  silver  light.  Not  a  sound  fell  upon  the  young  man's 
ear  as  he  passed  along  this  leafy  corridor.  Emerging 
therefrom,  he  beheld  far  in  the  distance  in  front  of  him, 
a  lofty  mountain,  which,  looming  above  the  smaller 
ones  around,  and  encircled  at  the  summit  by  a  white 
cloud  of  fog,  looked,  to  his  fancy,  as  if  it  might  be  a 
female  giant  sitting  up  in  her  night-cap,  with  her 
family  nestled  around  her,  to  await  the  return  of  her 
friend  and  partner — some  intoxicated  mountain  absent 
upon  a  debauch.  Nearer  by,  the  road  ran  down  by  the 
lake,  whose  surface  here  and  there  might  be  seen 
through  the  trees,  reflecting  in  deathly  stillness  the 
pale  light  of  the  planet.  A  distant  cock  started  from 
slumber,  and  probably  laboring  under  the  hallucination 
that  the  morning  was  breaking,  might  be  faintly  heard 
upon  the  other  side  of  the  water,  crowing  his  prema 
ture  welcome  to  the  god  of  day.  Charles  stopped  on 
the  leafy  margin,  and  leaning  against  the  rocks  which 
the  night  dew  had  not  dampened,  mused  upon  the  still 
scene,  in  a  revery  characterized  by  exquisite  mel 
ancholy. 

He  was  at  last  about  continuing  his  walk  away 
from  the  subdued  splendor,  and  towards  his  couch, 
when  the  dull  regular  sound  of  the  row-locks  of  a  boat, 
and  the  easy  plash  of  oars  suddenly  fell  upon  his  ear, 
proceeding  on  the  facile  echo  of  the  night's  stillness, 


150  DINAH. 

along  the  water  from  the  distant  side  of  the  lake.  Soon, 
while  gazing  in  the  direction  to  which  the  sound  at 
tracted  his  attention,  he  dimly  discovered  emerging 
from  the  haziness,  upon  the  silver  shining  surface,  and 
rounding  a  small  wooded  island,  which  seemed  a  part 
of  the  mainland,  a  little  black  object,  whose  course  was 
directed  nearly  towards  the  point  at  which  he  was 
standing.  His  curiosity  was  aroused,  although  he  nat 
urally  conjectured  that  it  was  the  boat  of  some  noctur 
nal  fisherman,  returning  from  a  favorite  stake,  haunted 
by  the  pouts,  and  loaded  with  the  finny  spoil.  The 
tiny  vessel  slowly  approaching  in  its  oblique  path, 
however,  his  conjecture  was  modified,  as  he  indis 
tinctly  observed  its  occupants  to  be  a  man  and  a  wo 
man,  rowing  along  in  silence.  "Who  were  they  ?  Some 
farmer  and  his  wife  or  daughter,  who  had  been  to  visit 
a  neighbor  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake,  and  were 
returning  at  this  belated  hour  to  their  homes.  They 
turned  their  boat  as  they  neared  the  lateral  shore, 
towards  a  little  gulf  of  the  lake,  covered  with  water- 
lilies,  around  which  the  road  ran  ere  it  diverged,  and 
Charles  soon  heard  the  crunching  noise  of  its  bottom 
'  upon  the  pebbles,  as  it  landed  on  the  side  the  farthest 
from  him.  Here  instead  of  disappearing  upon  the 
road,  which  was  overhung  at  a  ,  short  distance  with 
foliage,  they  stopped  in  the  space  cleared  by  its  prox 
imity  to  the  lake,  and  commenced  to  walk  up  and  down 
together,  in  a  singular,  loving  manner.  The  fog  still 
gathering  over  the  water,  conjoined  with  the  distance, 
prevented  a  distinct  distinguishment  of  this  pair ;  but 
the  young  man  was  enabled  to  observe  from  their 
motions,  that  their  feelings  seemed  the  vivacious 
and  mettlesome  product  of  romantic  and  enthusiastic 


DINAH.  151 

natures.  Hanging  upon  the  arm  of  the  other  while  they 
walked,  the  female  bent  around  often,  as  if  to  look  in 
his  eyes  in  a  tender  confiding  way,  or  perhaps  in  a 
quick  impassioned  kiss  placed  upon  his  cheek,  to  show 
the  earnest  token  of  her  affection  for  him,  while  he,  on 
his  part,  seemed  to  display  a  kind  of  affable  haughti 
ness  in  his  gait,  as  though  he  were  proud  for  the  mo 
ment  at  having  her  upon  his  arm. 

This  sprightly  softness,  this  romanesque  sensibility, 
between  two  beings  at  such  an  hour,  and  such  a  place, 
though  singular,  would  perhaps  have  seemed  easily 
referable  to  a  natural  yet  sentimental  cause,  had  not 
another  incident  in  their  eccentric  communion  sud 
denly  startled  the  silent  observer.  The  low  conversation 
which  was  taking  place  between  them  in  the  purring 
tone  of  affection,  had  been  too  indistinct  to  be  remark 
able,  until  it  was  suddenly  broken  by  a  loud  and  bitter 
laugh  on  the  part  of  the  male.  It  was  the  same  voice 
he  had  invented  in  his  considerable  dream  of  the 
pioneer,  and  which  had  been  echoed  to  an  excited  im 
agination,  in  the  silent  hall  of  his  residence  thereafter. 
He  stepped  forward  in  the  earnest  rummage  of  this 
affair.  A  singular  scene  of  wrangling  seemed  sud 
denly  to  have  commenced  between  these  two  beings,  or 
rather  of  bitterness  on  the  part  of  the  male ;  for  the 
girl  stood  apparently  bowed  in  silence  to  the  re 
proaches  of  the  male,  which  were  attended  by  wild 
gestures.  His  singular  speech  fell  thus  in  sudden  ex 
citement  from  his  lips,  as  if  called  forth  by  some  old 
subject  of  strife  between  them,  which  had  been  men 
tioned  once  more.  In  the  impulsive  conviction  that 
wrong  might  perhaps  be  done  between  them,  Charles 
did  not  refrain  from  crying  aloud  an  alarm  of  warning 


152  DINAH. 

to  these  beings,  whether  they  were  supernatural  or  not. 
His  halloo  was  mingled  and  annihilated  by  the  wild 
echoes  of  a  dozen  hills,  as  though  it  were  mocked  by 
fiends  guarding  the  interview,  yet  it  appeared  not  to 
have  failed  to  startle  the  actors,  for  they  ran  quickly 
along  the  road,  and  as  they  reached  the  leafy  bower, 
the  female  turned  to  listen. 

Who  was  this  listening  being?  In  that  peculiar 
attitude  he  had  further  proof  that  his  dream  was  not 
a  thought-born  unreality,  for  it  seemed  the  same  as 
-that  of  the  pioneer's  sweetheart,  as  he  saw  her  in  the 
dim  chamber.  Were  the  legends  true,  and  did  the 
spirits  of  those  beings  thus  live  over  again  their  earthly 
existence  of  loving  and  quarrelling  ?  But  it  was  here 
that  the  young  man  was  overcome  with  extraordinary 
feelings  of  astonishment  from  another  cause ;  for  in  the 
midst  of  these  fancies,  the  previous  motions  of  the 
female  seemed  growing  familiar,  the  remembrance 
struck  him,  that  he  had  once  before  observed  this 
attitude,  as  the  attitude  of  an  earthly  being,  and  he 
thought  he  now  saw  through  the  temporary  thinness  of 
the  fog,  moving,  as  it  gathered,  the  pale  features  and 
peculiarly  falling  hair  of  that  being,  of  the  girl  Dinah, 
the  resident  of  his  own  mansion  !  For  the  moment,  the 
investiture  of  this  young  creature  with  other  than  hu 
man,  attributes,  aye,  even  to  the  thrilling  convertibility 
of  her  living,  breathing  presence  with  the  shadowy 
identity  of  the  princess  of  the  past,  seemed  not  the 
slight  and  passing  work  of  fancy,  but  of  the  faculty 
which  deals  with  reality.  Yet  in  the  midst  of  his  con 
fusion,  impelled  by  the  simple  conviction  of  his  senses, 
he  rushed  along  the  road  bordering  the  lake,  to  the 
spot  where  the  singular  scene  had  occurred.  He 


DIN  An.  153 

readied  it  to  find  no  one  there,  although  the  noise  of 
some  one  retreating  through  the  groves,  seemed  borne 
faintly  to  his  ear. 

At  last,  with  the  firm  supremacy  of  his  commoner 
sense,  with  the  conviction  that  it  was  the  girl  Dinah  in 
all  her  humanity,  and  that  she  would,  without  doubt, 
seek  the  mansion,  he  determined  to  reach  it  before  her, 
and  by  accosting  her,  clear  up  the  mystery.  It  would 
have  taken  him  perhaps  an  hour  to  accomplish  the  dis 
tance  from  the  lake  to  the  mansion  at  an  ordinary  pace, 
but  animated  by  the  impulses  of  a  tinged  curiosity,  he 
reached,  in  a  much  shorter  time,  the  nearest  gate  "of  the 
park,  which  was  one  in  its  rear  wall,  glowing  with  the 
warmth  produced  by  his  rapid  pace.  The  fog,  though 
moonlit,  had  become  so  thick  that  the  outlines  of  the 
house  were  not  distinguishable,  and  even  the  most  ad 
jacent  shrubbery  of  the  pear  and  other  fruit  trees, 
whose  long  branches  overhung  the  avenue  upon  which 
he  entered,  was  concealed  in  the  silver  sheen.  Under 
the  lessening  influence  of  his  expectation,  which  now 
seemed  hardly  valid,  he  pursued  upon  the  earthy  unre- 
sounding  avenue,  the  familiar  way  from  the  postern 
towards  the  mansion,  and  reason  indeed  was  deter 
mining  his  footsteps  to  his  chamber,  when  he  stopped 
again,  for  a  soft  and  flying  pace  seemed  suddenly  pass 
ing  him  in  the  deep  fog.  He  even  thought  he  heard  her 
rapid  breathing,  he  even  imagined  he  felt  the  touch  of 
a  floating  robe.  Ere  the  flash  of  his  indecision  ended, 
one  of  the  dogs  of  the  place  jumped  upon  him  in  joy 
ful  meeting,  and  with  heightened  noise,  scampered  off 
in  the  fog  and  over  the  bushes,  to  return  again  as 
quickly  to  him.  Yet  this  last  cozening  and  trickery  of 
his  imagination,  if  it  were  such,  was  stronger  than  the 


154:  DINAH. 

deductions  of  reason,  and  with  a  hasty  command  to  the 
dog,  he  commenced  a  reinvigorated  ransacking.  It 
was  again  without  success  in  the  silence  and  the  fog, 
and  after  a  few  penultimate  moments  at  the  door  of 
the  main  hall,  of  confusion  of  thought,  in  which  self- 
ridicule  at  a  proposition  to  rush  into  the  girl's  chamber 
was  conspicuous,  he  at  last  retired  to  his  couch  with 
the  reflection,  that  even  apart  from  the  romantic  singu 
larity  of  the  scene,  producing  solid  wonder,  the  further 
gratification  of  his  curiosity  was  quite  pardonable. 
As  master  of  the  house,  at  least,  he  had  a  right  to  inves 
tigate 'this  midnight  adventure  of  a  servant,  by  subtle 
or  open  inquiry. 


CHAPTEE    XXIII. 

BELIGIOUS   PEIfAKCE. — A   SCEXE    OF   PASSION. 

ME.  BONNEY  was  walking  along  the  road  at  even 
ing  towards  Squire  Wellwood's  mansion,  secretly  prac 
tising  the  taking  of  snuff,  and  causing  the  air  to  re 
sound  with  explosions,  when  his  attention  was  called  to 
an  individual  approaching  him,  who  appeared  to  be 
selecting  with  great  deliberation,  the  diameters  of  the 
mud  puddles  as  his  line  of  march.  !N"at  was  astounded. 
He  at  first  supposed  it  was  an.  escaped  lunatic ;  sec 
ondly,  a  person  tight;  thirdly,  a  person  whose  boots 
were  tight ;  and  fourthly,  he  saw,  to  his  amazement,  it 
was  the  learned  clergyman,  Dr.  Fuffles.  In  accordance 
with  the  High  Church  doctrine  of  penance,  the  Doctor 
had  lately  proposed  to  himself  to  chastise  his  heart  at 
judicious  intervals,  with  a  severe  application  of  the 


DINAH.  155 

virtue  of  humility,  assisting  the  punishment  by  a  con 
sonant  neglect  of  person.  He  had  on  this  occasion 
persistently  refused  to  have  his  face  washed  all  day. 
His  hair  was  now  quite  dishevelled,  and  his  counte 
nance  was  much  spotted  with  mud. 

"  Mr.  Bonney«"  said  he,  in  calm  continuance  of 
his  pious  purpose  as  he  came  up,  "  let  virtue  still  tri 
umph  over  a  pitiful  sinner.  Let  me  acknowledge  to 
you  that  I  am  vicious,  that  I  am  a  man  of  crimes. 
Nathaniel,  I  have  committed  murder  !  " 

"  Good  God  !  when  ? "  said  the  startled  Nat,  jump 
ing  back  a  foot  or  two,  not  knowing  but  that  it  was 
a  freak  of  insanity,  and  he  might  be  contemplating 
another. 

"That  is,  in  my  heart — in  my  thoughts.  "What 
makes  me  unfailingly  wish  for  a  fire-arm,  when  cats  dis 
turb  me  in  my  studies,  for  instance,  but  this  murderous 
rage  in  my  heart  ?  What  made  me  wish  once,  under 
the  same  circumstances,  to  throw  a  child  out  of  the 
window  ?  I  meant  to  convey  to  you  the  fact  that  I  too 
am  filled  with  all  the  vices  to  which  man  is  liable. 
Every  one,  I  know,  thinks  me  a  good  man.  You,  for 
instance,  think  me  virtuous  ;  but  let  me  ask  you,  why 
has  not  a  man  with  such  a  perception  as  yours,  long 
ere  this  observed  my  failings — " 

"  I  have,  Doctor.     I  did  some  time  ago,"  said  Nat. 

"  I  ask  you — why  have  you  not  observed  that  I  am 
but  a  poor  miserable  creature  of  appetite  and  passions  ? 
"Why  are  not  the  mean  tendencies  of  my  nature  easily 
discoverable  to  you  ? — " 

"  They  have  been — some  of  'em  have  been  quite 
transparent,"  said  the  affable  Nat,  desirous  of  showing 
a  cheerful  consonance  with  his  eccentric  pastor. 


156  DINAH. 

"  Young  man,"  said  the  Doctor,  with  sudden  se 
verity,  "  you've  interrupted  me  twice,  in  the  most  un 
warrantable  manner.  Now  let  me  ask  you,  and  I  will 
do  it  with  candor  and  coolness,  young  man,  what  do 
you  mean  by  it  ?  " 

"  Why,  you  did  it  yourself,"  said.Nat.  "  But  per 
haps  you  are  mistaken,  Doctor,  in  your  proposition.  I 
think  you  meant  to  say  that  we  are  all  prone  merely 
to  vices,  and  included  yourself  in  the  general  arraign 
ment.  You  had  better  take  a  pinch  of  snuff." 

"  Yes,  it  was  so,"  said  the  Doctor,  somewhat  molli 
fied,  and  recollecting  the  chastisement  still  due  to  his 
nature,  as  he  took  the  snuff.  "  You  are  right,  young 
man.  Yes,  we  are  all  prone  to  vices ;  and  I  meant  to 
say  that  I  did  not  arrogate  to  myself  any  immunity 
from  some  of  them ;  but  it  was  rather  to  a  terrible 
pride,  the  worst  pride  of  all,  I  meant  to  refer — a  pride 
of  intellect.  Unwise  friends  allude  in  fondness  to  my 
talents  and  genius ;  they  speak  of  me  as  distinguished. 
Nat,  I  am  not  a  man  of  genius.  I  obstinately  say  it. 
Let  the  world  continue  persistently  and  infatuatedly,  to 
assert  the  contrary.  I  know  it  and  confess  it — I  am 
not  a  man  of  genius." 

"That  is  the  point,"  said  Nat.  "Now  do  you 
know  I  have  always  thought  so  ?  " 

"  Let  them  call  my  mind  great,  and  point  with  ad 
miration  to  its  energies ;  who  so  well  qualified  to  judge 
of  it  as  I  am?  I  know  my  intellectual  deficiencies, 
and  I  assert  to  you  that  I  have  them." 

"  I  see,  I  see,  you  are  intellectually  rather  than 
morally  deficient.  It  is  your. head  that  is  weak,  and 
not  your  heart.  Yes  !  " 

"  Young  man,  I  am  astonished  and  grieved.    I  knew 


DINAH.  157 

your  father  when  he  was  a  boy.  I  was  in  the  house 
when  you  were  vaccinated.  You  have  grown  since 
then,  under  my  spiritual  guidance,  to  an  expanded 
manhood,  and  the  result  is  you  don't  know  any 
thing  at  all,  and  what  is  more,  you  are  inclined  to  be 
vicious.  Good-night.  I  grieve  for  the  state  of  your 
bosom." 

"  Well,  good-bye,  Doctor ;  I  was  going  to  visit  Miss 
Wellwood." 

"  Eh  ?  You  will  find  her  at  the  Place  with  Mr. 
Warriston.  I  saw  them  enter  the  Park  gate.  Good 
bye,  young  man,  I  grieve  for  you." 

"  Ha  !  still  better ;  even  in  the  presence  of  the 
hated  rival,"  reflected  Nat,  recurring  to  his  snuff  vigor 
ously  as  he  walked  along ;  "  That  is,  he  would  be  a 
hated  rival  if  I  had  my  own  way  about  it.  But  nature 
has  mysteriously  developed  in  my  bosom,  a  devilish 
disagreeable  liking  for  him,  which  I  somehow  cannot 
get  rid  of." 

Numerous  and  almost  daily  meetings  were  now 
brought  about  between  Charles  and  Laura,  naturally 
effected  by  their  adjacence,  and  more  particuarly  by 
the  growing  desires  of  either  to  bask  in  the  sunshine 
of  the  other's  smiles.  Charles  was  carried  away  by 
Laura's  sweet  regard  of  the  wants  of  his  moral  nature, 
her  devotion  to  him,  by  the  simple  power  of  being 
loved  by  her,  in  fact. 

"  My  love  for  this  dear  girl,"  thought  he,  "  would 
perhaps  have  slumbered  forever  unawakened  in  my 
bosom,  had  I  not  first  known  that  she  loved  me.  A 
woman  who  is  a  woman,  and  who  loves  a  man,  need 
never  despair.  If  she  only  perseveres,  she  can  win  him 
to  her,  had  she  to  bring  him 'out  of  hate.  Unless  she 


158  DINAH. 

truly  loves  him  she  will  fail  indeed ;  for  one  half  of 
the  power  of  her  love  consists  in  the  fact  that  its  ab 
sence  is  unmistakable  to  the  object  of  it.  Really,  I 
wish  she  didn't  feel  so  ardently  her  attachment  to  me. 
I  sometimes  feel  indeed  I  .have  no  right  to  such  deep 
affection."  Laura  also,  while  seated  by  his  side  upon 
.the  terrace  this  evening,  was  wrapped  in  soft  musing. 
Her  mind  reverted  to  the  absurd  attention  of  the  young 
advocate  Nat.  "  He  never  could  love  me  with  one  half 
the  wonderful  devotion  Charlie  has  already  shown.  At 
any  rate,  I  cannot  be  so  diffusive  now.  Heavens  ! 
there  he  is.  What  strange  behavior.  What  does  he 
mean  by  those  singular  stops  ?  " 

The  young  advocate  might  be  seen  upon  the  avenue 
approaching  the  house,  with  his  hat  cocked  upon  one 
side  of  his  head.  At  intervals  of  ten  or  twelva  feet  he 
stopped,  and  projecting  his  leg,  executed  short  and  in 
complete  pirouettes,  with  a  pleasant  negligent  air  of 
deliberate  regardlessness  of  appearance.  Laura  bowed 
to  him  in  some  wonderment,  as  he  approached  the  ter 
race,  under  which  he  stopped  and  drawing  himself  up, 
held  his  breath  in  a  very  uncomfortable  manner,  and 
looked  sternly  for  a  moment  at  the  parties  seated  above. 

"  Ha !  they  regard  me.  She  already  calls  his  at 
tention  to  my  scornful  bearing." 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  him  ?  "  said  Laura,  to 
Charles ;  "  he  looks  like  a  fool." 

"  Oh,  nothing,"  said  Charles,  somewhat  puzzled 
himself. 

!N"at  put  his  eyes  upon  the  unhappy  woman,  and 
walked  majestically  upon  the  terrace. 

"  Good  evening,  Mr.  Bonney,"  said  they  both  to 
gether. 


DINAH.  159 

"I  reply,  good  evening — I  say,  good  evening  to 
you,"  said  that  individual,  pompously,  looking  toward 
Charles. 

"  But  what  is — this  is  singular,"  ejaculated  the 
young  lady. 

"  Ha !  ever  the  idle  question  of  the  young  and  in- 
e^erienced  female,"  said  the  young  lawyer. 

"  Eh,  what  ?  "  asked  Charles,  with  a  little  severity, 
"  what  did  you  say  ?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing,"  replied  the  other  gentleman,  with 
a  sudden  change  of  manner.  "  Good  evening,  good 
evening  ;  a  little  abstraction.  (I  was  bordering  on  the 
impolite.  He  noticed  it.  I'd  better  stick  to  the  super 
cilious.") 

"  Oh,  well,  collect  yourself,  Mr.  Bonney,"  said 
Charles.- 

"  Have  you  heard  the  melancholy  news  ? "  asked 
Laura,  reverting  to  a  subject  of  her  conversation  with 
Charles.  "  Julia  Colgate  has  lost  her  grandmother, 
Mr.  Bonney." 

"  Ha !  ha !  "  exclaimed  that  individual. 

"  Dear  me,  I  assure  you,  sir,  this  matter  should  not 
be  treated  trivially.  We  have  not  grandmothers  to 
lose  every  day  of  our  lives,  sir." 

("  That  is  intended  as  a  joke,  no  doubt.  Playful 
allusion  to  the  limited  number  of  grandmothers  pro 
vided  for  us  by  nature.  Now  is  the  time  to  look 
devilish  solemn,  but  I  can't,  it  is  too  funny.  Ah, 
this  affects  her.  I  wonder  if  it  is  safe  to  try  the 
snuff-box  now.  I  think  I  could  do  it  without  sneez- 
ing.") 

"  And  now,  Julia,  with  her  husband,  is  going  to 
leave  Mrs.  Colgate,  and  live  at  the  West,"  continued 


160  DINAH. 

Laura.  "  What  nnist  be  a  mother's  feelings  at  parting 
with  her  only  child  !  " 

"  Never  having  been  a  mother,  it  is  impossible  for 
me  to  say,  ha !  ha !  "  replied  Nat,  disposed  to  be  witty. 

"  It  is  proposed  among  our  neighbors,  to  have  a  pic 
nic  at  the  lake  to-morrow,  Mr.  Bonney,"  said  Charles, 
somewhat  puzzled  by  the  young  man's  conduct,  an4 
inclined  to  refer  it  to  a  slight  intoxication. 

"  Oh,  yes :  and  do  come,  Mr.  Bonney,"  cried  Laura, 
with  ill-concealed  warmth.  "  "We  shall  have  such  fun. 
The  more  the  merrier." 

"  Hurrah  !  Of  course.  By  all  means.  Oh,  yes ! " 
exclaimed  Nat,  with  equal  ardor,  sending  to  oblivion 
the  sage  advice  of  his  friend  the  Southerner,  in  the  de 
lirium  of  ecstasy  which  this  proposition  excited  in  his 
being,  and  had  he  not  been  interrupted  by  an  extraor 
dinary  occurrence,  which  a  few  moments  after  took 
place  in  the  house,  it  is  quite  probable  he  might  have 
dismounted  his  conversational  organ,  upon  the  subject 
of  the  proposed  pleasure  party,  ere  his  fervor  was 
assuaged. 

The  young  man  Rudolph,  who  had  sought  an  op 
portunity  to  accompany  Laura  to  this  mansion,  for  the 
purpose  solely  of  meeting  the  lowly  being  who  was 
now  wielding,  perhaps  involuntarily,  such  a  power  over 
his  feelings,  failed  not,  in  the  cunning  of  his  desires,  to 
watch  the  moment  of  careless  conversation,  when  he 
might  loiter  away  from  the  ostensible  objects  of  his 
visit,  to  seek  the  real  centre  of  his  ill-balanced  thoughts. 
The  necessities  of  Dinah's  position  in  the  house  soon 
gave  him  an  opportunity.  Were  the  scene  which  en 
sued  between  these  ill-assorted  beings  to  be  described 
by  Beethoven  or  Mozart,  the  masters  would  employ  the 


DINAH.  161 

grand  crash  of  the  orchestral  instruments.  Could  the 
darkness  have  been  lit  up  with  melo-dramatic  fire,  it 
would  have  seemed  as  if  there  were,  as  usual,  a  splendid 
demon  with  fierce  eyes  there,  ready  to  fly  away  with  a 
weak-minded  girl.  However,  in  this  case,  it  was  the 
demon  who  was  weak  in  his  violence,  and  the  young 
girl  who  was  strong  in  her  quiet.  Whatever  he  may 
have  said  in  the  commencement,  as  he  caught  her 
in  the  dark  hall — she  may  not  have  regarded,  but 
she  soon  heard  him  breathe  her  name,  in  tones  in 
which  the  mad  infirmity  of  a  fitful  temper  seemed 
mingled  with  the  wild  idolatry  of  an  unrefined  soul. 
By  the  dull  light  of  the  night,  the  flash  of  passionate 
unholy  love  was  discovered  in  his  eyes,  and  a  fierce 
wanness  was  spread  upon  his  face.  The  demon  of  un 
lawful  passion,  thus  taking  possession  of  this  earthly 
tabernacle,  looked  out  of  the  windows  and  shook  the 
weakly  frame.  The  young  man  knew  not  what  he  did, 
or  cared  not  if  he  knew. 

He  lingered  on  Dinah's  lips  till  she  got  fairly  tired. 
She  laughed  at  the  absurdity  of  his  wild  conduct,  and 
had  good  sense  enough  not  to  create  a  disturbance  by 
resisting  him,  and  to  wait  patiently  until  his  madness 
should  exhaust  itself.  These  moments  were  no  doubt 
two  or  three  centuries  to  the  poor  besotted  drunkard  of 
love.  His  moral  nature  was  staggering  with  it.  His 
spiritual  constitution  couldn't  stand  so  much. 

The  spirits  who  were  watching  the  interview  saw 
him  draw  himself  away,  blushing  like  a  peony,  and  saw 
the  grace  which  passion  had  given  him,  leaving  him 
standing  for  a  moment,  much  in  the  position  of  a 
sheepish  boy,  detected  in  purloining  sweetmeats.  His 
constitution  was  one  weakened  by  excesses.  The  blood 


162  DINAH. 

fled  in  moral  and  physical  eccentricity  from  his  vitality, 
and  he  fell  like  a  log,  fainted  away  upon  the  stone 
floor.  When  he  came  to,  Dinah  held  his  head,  brush 
ing  back  his  hair,  and  Nat,  who  had  first  arrived,  was 
standing  by  in  a  most  extraordinary  state  of  weak  ex 
citement.  The  explanation  by  the  girl,  and  the  harm 
less  issue  of  the  accident,  finally  installed  it  in  the 
minds  of  those  assembled  as  somewhat  ridiculous  ;  but 
in  addition  to  this  result,  Charles  in  a  moment  divined 
its  real  antecedent,  and  further  the  cause  of  the  meeting 
upon  the  lake  and  of  the  unusual  rage  which  accom 
panied  the  betrayal  of  feeling  towards  him,  on  the  part 
of  "Warriston  at  the  church !  His  reason,  with  a  flash, 
projected  not  only  the  relations  between  the  latter  and 
the  girl,  but  also  between  the  reckless  young  man  and 
himself,  and  while  it  led  him  to  pass  by  the  illusion  of 
his  hearing  at  the  interview  on  the  lake,  as  an  exagger 
ation  of  this  young  man's  voice,  easily  made  by  his  own 
romancing  fancy  under  the  analogous  influence  of  the 
hour  and  the  scene,  he  laughed  shortly  in  the  rapid  prog 
ress  of  his  reflections,  as  he  returned  with  the  others  to 
the  parlor.  "  How  now — does  he  think  that  I  am  as 
base  as  he  would  be,  and  have — ha  !  ha  !  But  he  can 
not  dare  to  be  other  than  honorable  towards  her — even 
simply  considering  her  as  a  member  of  our  household, 
and  yet  their  inherent  and  social  disparity.  It  is 
laughable." 

The  emotion  was  effaced  for  the  moment,  as  his 
memory  reverted  to  the  remarkable  scene  in  the  misty 
moonlight,  of  which  he  had  been  an  involuntary  wit 
ness,  and  notwithstanding  his  reasoning,  a  feeling  with 
regard  to  the  young  girl  still  rose  in  his  bosom,  roman 
tic,  though  perhaps  absurd  in  its  nature.  Yet  while 


DINAH.  163 

he  laughed  again  at  his  own  foolishness,  he  resolved  to 
seek  in  some  manner  from  the  girl  herself,  an  explica 
tion  of  these  occurrences  in  which  she  was  apparently 
involved,  for  her  youth,  her  seeming  tendencies  towards 
loftiness,  tenderly  suggested  to  his  mind  that  she  should 
have  some  friend  and  protector,  in  her  relations  at 
least  with  this  young  man,  Warriston,  and  if  not 
against  him,  against  the  evil  power  of  her  own  circum 
stances.  Yes,  the  degrading  thought  that  she  contem 
plated  an  illegitimate  alliance  with  this  young  man,  he 
spurned  at  once  from  his  mind  as  an  indignity  to  her 
character — as  an  impossibility  ;  for  some  power  made 
him  feel,  that  upon  entering  this  luxurious  but  horrible 
condition,  if  she  were  thus  tempted  to  escape  from  the 
limits  of  poverty  and  misery,  the  possession  of  that  fair 
face,  of  that  singular  nature,  would  wither-  and  die 
with  the  first  simoon  breath  she  drew  there.  And  fur 
ther,  notwithstanding  the  appearance  of  passion  upon 
her  part,  in  the  interviews  which  he  had  beheld  be 
tween  them,  he  could  not  but  feel  that  no  fire  of  sym 
pathy  was  glowing  in  her  bosom,  for  his  unequivalent 
neighbor,  even  were  their  relations  honorable.  Though 
well-educated  and  possessed  of  certain  powers  of  attrac 
tion  when  he  chose  to  exert  them,  and  bearing  about 
him  especially  that  pleasing  air  of  independence  which 
wealth  generally  bestows,  Warriston  possessed  no  inhe 
rent  attributes  which  could  wake  her  soul  in  the  ravish 
ing  harmony  of  sexual  love.  But  while  thus  reasoning 
and  taking  for  granted,  of  course,  that  she  wielded  the 
power  in  the  relations,  whatever  they  were,  which  ex 
isted  between  the  two,  no  consideration  was  offered  to 
his  judgment  in  opposition  to  the  conclusion  that  she 
was  deceiving  his  ill-conditioned  neighbor,  in  her  arn- 


164:  DINAH. 

bition  to  extricate  herself  and  her  father  from  the  mis 
eries  of  their  poverty  and  degradation.  The  inconso- 
nance  of  this  method  of  her  ambition  with  the  finer 
parts  of  her  nature,  and  the  innocence  of  youth,  over 
whelmed,  curiously  enough,  in  his  mind,  the  honorable 
character  of  the  aim.  In  his  desire,  as  a  student  of 
human  nature  alone,  to  dissipate  from  his  consideration 
this  indication  of  a  failing  in  her  character,  which  was 
often  conjectured  by  others,  and  as  often  gainsaid  by 
him  in  his  silent  finalities  respecting  her,  he  wished  that 
Rudolph's  had  been  such  a  character  as  would  have 
inspired  a  true  sentiment  of  love  in  her  heart,  or  he 
would  willingly  have  believed  still  that  some  mystery 
connected  with  her  was  calling  for  his  own  interposi 
tion  in  her  favor.  The  girl  explained  the  occurrence 
before  Rudolph  attempted  to,  and  Charles,  who  was  the 
only  one  who  knew  the  artifice  she  was  employing,  re 
marked  the  natural  address  with  which  she  successfully 
used  the  machinery  of  headaches,  swoons,  assistance, 
and  characteristics  to  dissipate  its  suspicable  difficulty. 
As  the  others  left,  Warriston  lingered,  apparently 
to  thank  her. 

• 

"  Why  were  you  so  violent  ? "  said  she,  in  a  low 
tone  of  anger  to  him.  The  flashing  look  she  had  seen 
in  Charles's  eyes,  may  have  impelled  its  utterance. 
"  You  might  have  asked  me  in  a-  decorous  way,  and 
saved  your  agitation,"  she  added,  with  a  satirical 
laugh.  "  It  might  have  been  avoided  by  the  reflection 
that  I  would  have  permitted  you." 

"  My  love  produces  nothing  but  bitterness,"  re 
plied  the  young  man. 


DINAH.  165 

CHAPTEE    XXIV. 


THE     PIC  X  1C. 


AT  -the  particular  request  of  Mrs.  Korcomb,  the 
girl  Dinah  accompanied  the  ladies,  although  Charles's 
mother  had  shewn  considerable  disposition  for  her  com 
panionship,  by  intimating  a  wish  that  she  should  stay 
at  home  with  her. 

The  servants  had  proceeded  ahead,  and  the  party 
having  assembled  at  the  Place,  started  off'  in  great 
merriment  on  the  road  towards  the  lake,  the  ladies 
mostly  in  carriages,  and  the  gentlemen  on  horseback. 
It  fell  to  the  lot  of  Nathaniel  to  be  mounted  on  the 
long-bodied  horse  Thomas,  belonging  to  his  favorite's 
parent.  This  horse  wras  built  very  much  in  the  style 
of  the  Spanish  galleons  of  old,  very  high  up  at  both 
ends,  and  very  low  down  in  the  middle.  Though  ill- 
favored  in  personal  appearance,  he  had  been  blessed 
with  a  bright  understanding  and  a  strong  will,  so  that 
whenever  he  was  led  to  understand,  for  instance, 
through  the  medium  of  his  sensations  that  there  was  a 
horse-fly  on  his  rump,  no  earthly  power  could  prevent 
his  stopping  to  bite  off  the  same.  Or  if  he  heard  a 
buzzing  conspiracy  in  the  air  near  his  rear,  to  break  it 
up,  by  kicking  violently  at  it,  in  its  inception,  bearing 
old  Aunt  Sallie  Tyler's  on  the  road,  Nat  expressed 
his  fears  that  the  animal  would  certainly  come  in 
pieces,  if  he  continued  his  disjointed  attempts  at  loose 
prancing  much  longer.  An  old  man,  the  spouse  of  the 
ancient  Sallie,  standing  on  the  road,  as  he  witnessed 
these  performances,  was  giving  utterance  to  short  yells 


166  DINAH. 

of  laughter,  accompanied  with  convulsive  grasps  at 
his  back,  and  rheumatic  cries  of  "oh !  "  Soon  Thomas, 
catching  sight  of  a  ruffian  desperado  in  the  shape  of  a 
monster  horse-fly,  lying  in  ambush  on  the  leaf  of  a  tree 
ahead,  backed  abruptly  into  the  side  of  Mr.  Pithkm's 
buggy.  In  consequence  of  this  oblique  excursion,  Mr. 
Pithkin  was  precipitated  heavily  from  the  vehicle,  and 
his  fair  companion,  Miss  Adeline,  fell  on  top  of  him, 
administering  to  him  a  severe  blow  upon  the  nose  with 
her  fist,  which  she  had  clenched  in  terror  as  she  fell. 
Amid  the  confusion,  Mr.  Pithkin  rose  from  the  ruins 
with  a  gibbous  eye,  a  sanguinolent  nose,  and  with  feel 
ings  and  pantaloons  badly  lacerated,  but  still  in  a 
stately  and  rectilinear  manner. 

Order  being  restored,  Charles  and  Laura  among  the 
rest,  galloped  ahead,  and  Nat  and  the  Colonel  after 
them.  Nat's  attention  was  now  wholly  engrossed  by 
the  pleasant  conversation,  which  he  observed  was  being 
held  by  Charles  and  Laura.  Their  countenances  were 
lit  up  with  pleasure,  and  it  was  quite  evident  the  sub 
ject  of  their  tete-a-tete,  was  one  which  was  deeply  in 
teresting  to  both.  Nat  was  silent.  He  watched  the 
beauty  as  she  bent  over  toward  Charles,  and  viewed 
her  various  gestures  with  inexpressible  feelings  of  love 
and  jealousy.  The  Colonel,  who  had  a  great  love  for 
animals,  and  had  been  surveying  the  magnificent 
creature  which .  Charles  bestrode,  finally  broke  out  in 
rapture.  "  Fine  neck  she  has,  hasn't  she  ?  " 

"  Neck !  no  painter  in  his  dreams  of  grace  ever 
saw  such  a  neck.  I  can't  bear  to  look  at  it.  It  is  too 
beautiful.  By  Jove  !  Colonel,  she  must  be  mine." 

"  Yours  ?  It  is  no  use.  Charlie  has  her  on  trial 
now.  He  is  going  to  take  her,  he  says — " 


DINAH.  167 

"  But  he  can't  win  her.  Providence  made  her  for 
me.  You  know  it.  He  can't  win  her,  I  tell  you." 

"  "Win  her  ?  He  don't  intend  to.  He  says  he  is 
going  to  purchase  her." 

"  How  dare  he  talk  in  that  way  of  a  creature  ho 
should  respect  for  herself  alone  ?  " 

"  Look  here  !  Nat,  I  didn't  know  you  were  so  en 
thusiastic  as  all  that  when  you  take  a  fancy,  you  are  a 
good  fellow." 

"  Enthusiastic,  Colonel  ?  Why,"  continued  Nat, 
impressively,  pleased  at  the  opportunity  of  expressing 
his  love  for  Laura,  "  I  adore  the  very  ground  she 
walks  on  !  " 

"  Good !  I  like  that.  They  say  her  bottom  is  un 
commonly  fine." 

"  Bottom  !  Good  God  !  who  said  that  ? " 

"  But  she  is  vicious,  (mysteriously.)  Look  at  that 
bad  habit  of  snorting  she  has.  It  is  an  indication  that 
she  is  vicious." 

"  Ila  !  ha  !  (hysterically.)  Look  here,  Colonel !  It 
is  not  usual  for  me  to  contradict  any  one,  much  less 
you,  in  any  criticism  which  may  be  based  on  truth,  but 
I  am  damned  if  she  snorts  !  " 

"  "Well,  you  needn't  be  so  dogmatic  about  it.  Your 
fancy  has  beclouded  your  observation,  Nat.  But  it  is 
indeed  reasonable  after  all.  She  is  certainly  a  beauti 
ful  creature  in  every  point.  Those  legs  of  hers  are  the 
neatest  I  ever  saw." 

"  By  Jove !  he  is  insane  or  drunk,  but  responsible. 
Colonel  Norcomb,  sir,  this  is  a  little  too  much.  This  is 
unbearable,  sir,  and  superinduces  fire-arms.  Such  a  re 
mark  as  that  is  not  to  be  borne  from  any  one,  not  even 
from  one  whom  I  have  respected  up  to  this  moment  as 


168  .        DINAH. 

I  have  you.     Oh,  Heaven  !  to  think  of  talking  of  hav- 
ling  seen  her — " 

"  Ha !  ha  !  Is  there  any  thing  improper  in  look 
ing  at  a  mare's  legs  ?  There  they  are.  Look  at  them 
yourself." 

"  "What  ?  I  have  made  a  slight  mistake.  I  thought 
you  alluded — when — oh,  dear  !  (Thus  am  I  fated  to 
be  supinated.)" 

-  On  reaching  the  lake,  James  Gluckinson  was  de 
spatched  to  a  neighboring  potato-field,  to  procure  bait, 
from  the  fact  of  his  having  become  thoroughly  ac 
quainted,  by  many  minute  personal  researches,  with 
the  secret  hiding-places  therein,  of  that  desirable  tribe 
of  vermicular  beings  designated  as  lob /  and  the  Colonel 
sent  his  retainers  to  assist  him,  remarking,  however, 
that  their  indolence  was  of  so  serious  and  chronic  a  na 
ture,  that  most  of  the  worms  would  probably  escape 
into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  before  they  could  succeed 
in  capturing  them.  After  a  lengthy  period,  the  youth 
returned  and  reported  the  colored  individuals  as  en 
gaged  in  a  general  fight,  and  explained  his  own  delay 
by  stating  that  on  his  way  back  from  the  preserve 
of  worms,  he  was  obliged  to  disrobe  himself  entirely, 
in  consequence  of  some  of  the  more  riotous,  which  he 
had  inclosed  in  a  pepper-box  in  his  pocket,  having 
escaped  therefrom  into  the  interior  of  his  pantaloons, 
about  which  they  had  commenced  to  crawl  in  a,  very 
disagreeable  manner. 

While  the  parties  floated  around  in  their  fragile 
barks  upon  the  lake,  or  seated  upon  the  shaded  rocks 
in  quiet  covert,  awaited  the  expected  bite,  Charles, 
deserted  at  the  moment  by  Laura,  lay  idly  reclined 
upon  the  verdant  turf,  gazing  at  the  huge  shadows  as 


DIN  A  JI.  169 

they  chased  each  other,  like  shapeless  monsters  in  play, 
upon  the  side  of  the  mountain.  Although  his  look  was 
thus  averted  to  the  passing  griffins,  he  still  could  easily 
'see  the  girl  Dinah,  as  she  strayed  cheerfully  in  the 
silent  labor  of  assisting  the  domestics  to  spread  the 
lunch.  Though  she  was  thus  engaged  in  the  common- 
, place  scene,  and  thus  distant  as  she  appeared  from  him 
'socially,  he  still  felt  an  irresistible  desire  to  watch  her 
motions,  while  ho  pursued  a  reflection  of  some  interest 
and  singularity.  Here  was  a  young  girl,  whose  charac 
ter  and  person,  were  half-formed  at  best,  but  as  far  as 
they  were  developed  had  been  unfolding,  since  earliest 
childhood,  under  the  chilling  influences  of  misery  and 
poverty,  and  yet  she  was  exercising  an  infatuating  in 
fluence,  simply  by  her  personal  charms,  over  one  young 
man,  brought  up  in  the  midst  of  the  satieties  of  refined 
life,  while  in  the  mind  of  another,  the  quality  of  her  in 
tellectual,  and  perhaps  also  her  moral  being  in  a  measure, 
had  already  produced  an  irresistible  sympathy  towards 
her.  The  apparently  besotted  infatuation  of  the  young 
proprietor,  Rudolph,  for  the  physical  beauty  of  the 
girl,  (for  he  seemed  to  worship  her  with  a  sensuous 
religion,)  may  thus  have  had  a  reasonable,  although  a 
wicked  cause.  His  aunt's  benevolence  in  receiving  the 
girl  and  her  father  into  her  household,  was  perhaps 
delicately  natural  in  the  opportunity  which  it  gave 
them  of  forgetting  their  degradation.  But  the  bestowal 
of  his  own  sympathy  seemed  absurd  in  its  irresistibility. 
He  recalled  quickly,  however,  the  particular  reasons 
for  it.  He  had  seen  from  the  traits  of  character  which 
had  been  at  times  displayed  to  him  in  his  conversa 
tions  with  her,  that  the  instincts  of  this  girl  were  all 
fitted  for  a  much  higher  sphere  than  the  one  which 


170  DINAH. 

poverty  and  the  criminal  follies  of  her  parent  made 
them  move  in.  He  saw  that  she  had  already  received 
such  an  education,  too,  that  she  would  fill  creditably 
some  higher  position  than  this  station,  of  the  dependant 
of  a  household ;  and  he  had  resolved  to  execute  the 
very  easy  matter  of  assisting  her  to  rise  from  her  lowly 
condition,  when  once  assured  that  she  possessed  none 
of  those  evil  traits,  to  which  her  bitter  experience  had 
rendered  her  so  liable,  and  which  would  make  this  con 
templated  assistance  on  his  part  not  only  foolish,  but 
criminal.  However,  the  first  step  in  the  discovery  of 
those  traits,  if  there  were  any,  he  had  felt,  was  to  cause 
her  to  experience  a  certain  equality  with  him,  which 
would  sooner  or  later  induce  her  to  relax  that  natural 
guard  of  reticence,  which  she  possessed,  and  which  was 
indicative  of  them.  After  the  long  idleness  and  vacancy 
of  his  intellectual  nature  which  he  had  been  experien 
cing,  he  felt  that  his  soul  had  been  led  particularly  to 
assert  its  natural  bent  once  more,  in  the  study  of  this 
girl's  character.  There  was  just  enough  undemonstra- 
tiveness  in  it  to  make  it  interesting  to  him,  and  to 
really  make  it  a  study.  'Mid  the  peculiar  extrinsi- 
calities  attached  to  it,  her  age,  her  humble  position,  her 
bitter  experience,  and  the  degradation  of  her  father's 
crime,  made  that  interest  melancholy  enough  to  tinge 
the  whole  with  a  color  of  romance.  Thus  in  the  benev 
olence  of  his  heart,  he  had  resolved  to  put  aside  the 
social  difference  of  condition,  and  assist  a  young  and 
tender  soul  with  his  sympathy  and  confidence,  in  its 
struggles  to  free  itself  from  a  condition  to  which  it  was 
evidently  inherently  unfitted.  And  now  after  all,  even 
when  observing  the  servants  speak  with  an  apparent 
air  of  superiority  to  this  strange  girl,  and  feeling,  too,  as 


DINAH.  171 

they  perhaps  did,  that  she  was  not  of  their  kind,  that 
there  could  be  nothing  in  common  between  the  posi 
tion  of  an  old  and  faithful  domestic  and  her  degraded 
condition,  her  nature  seemed  to  him  constructed  upon 
different  principles  from  those  of  the  common  herd, 
there  appeared  a  superior  power  in  her  individuality, 
which  was  indefinable,  almost  mysterious,  and  which 
thus,  perhaps,  completely  commanded  his. 

The  repast  was  now  ready.  The  straying  ladies 
and  gentlemen  returned  from  their  sail  in  the  tented 
boats,  or  from  their  equipoised  perch  upon  the  sunless 
rocks.  And  amid  the  sound  of  chicken-bones  and 
gushing  wine,  gay  voices  might  be  heard,  pleasantly 
excited  by  the  cool  enjoyment  of  the  hour.  Dinah,  at 
first,  walked  about  the  gods  and  goddesses  as  cup 
bearer,  like  another  Hebe,  wearing  a  variegated  gar 
ment,  and  upon  her  bosom  a  nosegay  of  beautiful 
flowers ;  but  Laura  soon  made  her  sit  down  by  her 
side,  between  her  and  Mrs.  Norcomb  ;  at  which  Charles 
gave  a  nod  of  .approbation  to  her,  and  she  secretly 
blushed  acknowledgment  to  him  and  to  the  young 
lady. 

As  soon  as  the  repast  was  concluded,  and  while 
they  amused  themselves  with  cards,  and  songs  with  the 
guitar,  as  it  was  yet  too  warm  for  the  dance,  Nat  pro 
posed  to  give  an  exhibition  of  his  equestrian  skill,  in  a 
short  shaded  space.  In  return  for  the  self-sacrificing 
manner  in  which  this  unfortunate  advocate  had  rowed 
the  ladies  about,  the  lake,  had  baited  their  hooks,  or 
now  and  then  extricated  them  from  the  bellies  of  the 
too  voracious  fishes,  Laura  had  occupied  a  great  deal 
of  her  time  in  unnecessarily  referring  to  the  accident  of 
the  morningj  and  had  nearly  driven  him  distracted 


172  DINAH. 

by  showing  the  unpleasant  interest  she  took  in  his 
horsemanship.  To  be  sure,  she  made  him  sit  down  by 
her  at  the  repast,  and  poured  him  a  glass  of  wine  to 
drink,  but  it  was  not  until  all  appetite  had  been  dis 
lodged  from  his  being  by  the  mental  hunger  and  thirst 
which  her  pertinacious  allusions  had  created  in  his 
bosom,  to  vindicate  himself  in  her  view  by  some  dis 
tinguished  act  of  equestrian  daring  with  the  same  diffi 
cult  being,  which  she  had  several  times  observed  he  was 
unable  to  manage.  Fired  with  this  idea,  he  caused  the 
concinnous  Thomas  to  be  led  up  from  the  distant  shade, 
and  mounted  with  a  subdued  excitement,  which  bore 
the  appearance  of  coolness.  The  heated  Thomas,  on 
his  way  towards  the  inviting  sheet  of  water  before  him, 
had  revolved  the  agreeable  idea  of  an  ablution  in  the 
same ;  and  in  consequence  thereof,  the  unfortunate  ad 
vocate,  had  been  on  his  back  for  about  an  electrical 
space  of  time,  when  the  enthusiastic  animal  darted 
with  the  speed  of  slow  lightning  to  the  pond,  and  made 
directly  for  the  middle  thereof.  In  vain  Nat  tugged  at 
the  bridle,  and  cried  "  whoa  ;  "  nothing  was  soon  seen 
of  the  horse's  person  but  his  head,  and  nothing  of  Nat's 
but  his,  surmounted  by  a  white  hat,  and  these  two  ob 
jects  thus  presented  upon  the  plane  of  the  lake,  the 
supernatural  phenomenon  of  a  phantom  equine  head 
being  chased  perpetually  at  an  ungaining  distance,  in  a 
serpentine  course,  by  a  man's  with  a  melancholy  ex 
pression,  and  in  a  white  hat.  Finally,  as  they  were 
nearing  the  shore,  amid  the  adjurations  of  the  as 
sembled  crowd  to  "hold  on,"  and  some  rather  ener 
getic  commands  of  rescue,  on  the  part  of  Miss  Well- 
wood  to  the  domesticSj  the  white  hat  suddenly  disap 
peared  with  the  head  in  it.  Its  owner  had  been  dis- 


DINAH.  173 

lodged  from  his  seat  by  a  sudden  and  violent  change  of 
mind  on  the  part  of  the  horse,  with  regard  to  direction. 
When  he  came  up,  he  was  in  the  vicinity  of  a  log, 
which  was  half-submerged,  near  an  inaccessible  part  of 
the  shore.  There,  after  being  occupied  some  minutes 
in  a  frantic  endeavor  to  work  along  the  tree,  by  means 
of  his  legs,  which  might  plainly  be  seen,  bent  with  the 
refraction  of  the  reflected  rays,  and  in  violent  motion, 
he  was  finally  rescued  by  the  grasp  of  the  gallant 
Gluckinson.  As  the  wet  condition  of  his  nankeen  pan 
taloons  rendered  his  presence  unbeseeming  for  the 
while,  he  was  led  immediately  by  the  same  benevolent 
individual  to  concealment  in  the  bushes,  where,  with 
the  same  dignity  with  which  an  embowered  old  bird 
awaits  on  the  nest  the  arrival  of  a  posterity,  he  waited 
until  his  habiliments  should  dry.  During  this  some 
what  prolonged  interval,  his  mind  was  occupied  by  the 
artless  conversation  of  the  innocent  James,  who  took 
this  opportunity  of  stating  to  him,  in  a  dark  and  am 
biguous  manner,  his  predilection  for  a  piratical  career, 
and  of  alluding  with  mysterious  and  gloomy  looks  to 
the  fact  that  it  was  the  destiny  of  his  life  to  war  against 
an  unsparing  foe,  who  now  wore  a  culinary  shape. 
All  of  which,  Nat  being  unable  to  grasp  the  exact 
meaning  of,  and  perhaps  being  somewhat  irritated  at 
the  slow  progress  of  the  drying  process,  he  endeavored 
to  relieve  the  tedium  of  both,  by  pitching  into  the  un 
fortunate  youth  at  judicious  intervals,  either  knocking 
his  head  against  a  tree  or  drumming  on  it  for  a  short 
period.  "While  he  was  receiving  from  Dinah's  hand 
an  iced  lemonade,  sent  by  one  of  the  ladies,  whose 
name  he  was  endeavoring  in  vain  to  discover,  and  was 
retaining  her,  to  persuade  her  that  the  divulgement  of  J 


174:  DINAH. 

the  initials  at  least  would  be  no  betrayal  of  confidence, 
a  game  of  "  hide  and  seek  "  had  been  proposed,  and  was 
being  put  into  execution.  When  she  returned,  the 
party  had  scattered  in  the  pleasant  breeze,  to  conceal 
ment  among  the  rocks  and  bushes,  excepting  Mrs.  Nor- 
comb,  lingering  as  the  seeker,  who  told  her  to  hide 
also.  She  ran  down,  and  stooped  in  real  pleasure  and 
fun,  between  two  noble  rocks  which  stood  at  some  dis 
tance  by  the  water's  side,  when  Charles,  emerging 
from  the  bushes  above  on  the  other  side,  with  a  hasty 
"  Hist !  "  slid  down  to  where  she  had  secreted  herself. 
There  was  hardly  room  for  two,  and  she  told  him  it 
wasn't  fair,  and  he  must  go. 

"  It  is  too  late." 

"  No,  I  will  go,"  said  she,  in  a  quick  whisper, 
and  she  was  about  going  round  still  farther  on  the 
shore,  when  a  third  party  confronted  her.  It  was  Ru 
dolph. 

"  Tou  thought  to  escape  me  !  "  (He  was  pale  with 
emotion.)  * 

"  What  ? "  said  she. 

"  I  well  know  with  whom  you  have  been,"  sneered 
he.  "  I  have  seen  his  looks,  and  your  cursed  blushes, 
all  along." 

With  quick  woman's  art,  she  smiled  upon  him,  but 
his  absurd  jealousy  blinded  him.  "  'Tis  for  him  you 
reserve  your  favors,  is  it  ? ""  continued  he. 

"  Leave  my  presence,  sir,"  said  she,  sharply.  She 
seemed  to  feel  the  dishonor  to  her  self-respect,  or  per 
haps  she  was  acute  enough  to  use  decisive  measures  at 
this  point,  and  perhaps  more  on  his  account  than  her 
own.  The  look  of  command  which  she  assumed  had 
its  effect  upon  him,  and  lie  was  really  about  to  walk 


DIN  A  II.  175 

away  in  confusion  and  silence,  when  Charles  unfortu 
nately  appeared,  attracted  by  the  peculiar  tones  of  the 
conversation.  The  fury  of  Rudolph  all  returned  at  his 
coming. 

"  You  seek  to  play  your  miserable  hypocrisy  in 
more  favorable  quarters,  do  you  ?  "  said  he,  to  Dinah, 
in  a  low  tone. 

"  "What  is  this,  Dinah  ? "  asked  Charles,  who  did 
not  exactly  understand  the  state  of  affairs. 

"  You  would  honor  your  sex,  and  disgrace  its  oppo 
site,  by  a  more  comprehensive  artifice,  would  you  ?  " 
continued  the  young  man. 

"  One  moment,  Rudolph  ;  allow  me  to  suggest  that 
such  language  is  improper  to  be  used  to  this  young 
girl,"  said  Charles,  quickly. 

"  You  would  escape  from  the  degradation,"  con 
tinued  Rudolph,  not  regarding  Charles  at  all,  "  which 
your  father's  miserable  crimes  have  brought  on  you,  in 
a  more  brilliant  way,  would  you  ? — " 

"  You  forget  your  own  honor,"  said  Dinah,  "  and 
my  right  as  a  woman." 

"  You  do  not  hear  her,"  said  Charles,  who  thought 
he  was  perhaps  overcome  with  wine.  "  Let  me  join 
with  her  in  reminding  you  of  your  extraordinary  in- 
consideration." 

"  You  can  take  yourself  away  from  me,"  continued 
Rudolph,  still  addressing  Dinah,  in  the  drunkenness  of 
his  jealousy. 

"  "What !  "  exclaimed  Charles,  indignantly.  "  If  it 
were  not — but — let  us  not  mar  the  pleasures  of  our 
moments  here.  Remember  yourself,"  continued  he, 
pulling  him  by  the  coat. 

"And  this  mouther  can  go  with  you  !  "  continued 
the  young  man. 


176  DINAH. 

"  Do  you  dare — "  cried  Charles,  suddenly — "  One 
•word  more,  sir.  You  consider  yourself  a  gentleman. 
So  am  I.  I  consider  it  tlio  duty  of  a  gentleman,  at 
least,  to  protect  the  members  of  his  household.  "What 
I  have  solicited  in  vain,  I  must  now  compel.  Leave 
this  spot,  sir." 

"  You  are  a  miserable  shuffler,  and  sottish  mum 
mer  !  "  cried  Rudolph.  "It  is  as  her  paramour  you 
would  protect  her  !  " 

Charles  forgot  himself,  and  took  him  by 'the  throat ; 
but  he  quickly  relaxed  his  grasp,  for  his  anger  was 
gone,  and  there  was  nothing  in  his  bosom  but  shame 
of  human  nature.  Just  then,  a  clear  voice  from  the 
cliff  above,  rang  out  "  I  spy  ;  "  and  its  owner,  Mrs.  Nor- 
comb,  turned  and  sought  the  goal  rapidly. 

The  passions  of  the  young  man  Rudolph  were 
strong,  but  his  frame  was  weak.  He  rose  with  a  scowl 
and  an  oath.  "  You  know  I  am  unequal  to  you  in 
strength,  and  would  take  advantage  of  the  inequality. 
You  have  struck  me,  sir,  but  you  shall  give  me  satis 
faction  in  another  way." 

"  If  you  think  to  engage  me  in  a  duel,  you  are  mis 
taken.  I  neither  believe  in  that  nor  would  I  fight  one 
with  you  if  I  did.  You  have  been  justly  punished  for 
your  insulting  meanness  to  one  who  is  not  only  a 
woman  but  is  inferior  to  you  in  station."  The  idea  of 
a  duel  being  mentioned  to  him,  again  touched  his  gall. 
"  The  miserable  scoundrel !  "  said  he,  in  a  ludicrous 
rage,  as  Rudolph  went  slowly  away.  "  Let  him  learn 
to  curb  his  anger,  and  then — " 

"  Hush  !  "  said  Dinah,  sorrowfully,  as  she  followed 
him.  "  What  sincerity  is  there  in  recommending  a 
virtue  which  you  do  not  practise  yourself?  " 


DINAH. 


"  Certainly,"  said  Charles,  with  a  laugh,  "  instead 
of  being  angry  with  him,  I  ought  to  pity  the  poor  fel 
low,  from  the  simple  fact  that  while  he  has  been  un 
able  to  conquer  his  own  temper,  he  has  been  further 
exasperated  by  the  sight  of  my  moderation !  " 

This  contretemps  was  unseen  by  any  one  save  the 
actors,  although  the  sudden  absence  of  Rudolph  ex 
acted  some  inquiry,  but  well  knowing  his  sullen  and 
eccentric  nature,  it  soon  ceased.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
game  continued  in  great  glee.  Laura  endeavoring  to 
find  a  suitable  concealment,  stumbled  upon  Nat,  and 
with  a  slight  shriek  discovered  him  standing  up 
against  a  tree,  with  an  immense  jack-knife,  reversed 
and  upraised  in  a  dagger-like  position,  carving  industri 
ously  the  letters  Lau — thereon.  The  old  maid  had  got 
into  a  cave  among  a  lot  of  toads,  and  while  Mr.  Pith- 
kin  was  leading  her  out,  reminded  him  again  of  the 
sacred  promise  which  he  had  made  to  her  on  the  way 
to  the  lake.  Endeavoring  to  impress  upon  his  mind  in 
a  dark  and  mysterious  manner  that  destiny  had  thrown 
a  being  (who,  she  gave  him  to  understand,  was  Col. 
Norcomb)  in  fatal  antagonism  to  him,  she  had  suc 
ceeded  simply  in  raising  the  idea  in  his  mind  that  the 
Southerner  didn't  like  him,  and  had  been  talking  in  a 
derogatory  manner  about  him.  With  a  reservation  in 
reference  to  the  case  of  the  son  of  the  South's  at 
tempting  to  revile  him  or  depreciate  his  virtues  to  his 
face,  he  had  promised  to  hold  no  intercourse  with  him 
during  the  picnic.  "  If  he  gives  me  any  of  his  sauce, 
however,"  said  Mr.  Pithkin,  "  I'll  have  to  call  him 
names  back.  Human  nature  can't  stand  it !  " 

The  festivity  lasted  until  the  set  of  the  sun,  and  re 
turning  to  Charles's  house,  by  invitation  of  the  aunt,  it 
8* 


178  DINAH. 

•was  prolonged  until  late  at  night.  Before  retiring, 
Charles  sought  an  opportunity  to  ask  Dinah  to  meet 
him  on  the  morrow,  and  appointed  a  place,  for  the  late 
occurrence  was  a  pleasant  revelation  of  her  high  antag 
onism  to  her  own  circumstances,  and  the  moments  he 
now  expended  in  the  contemplation  of  her  character 
ceased  to  shoot  back,  like  retreating  Parthians  as  they 
fled,  arrows  of  distrust  of  her  character. 


CHAPTEE  XXY. 

OBADIAH  AND  THE   GIRL. 

THE  cook  of  Pompney  Place  had  gone  to  chapel, 
having  tyrannically  ordered  the  unfortunate  Gluckinson 
to  sit  up  until  she  returned.  The  young  retainer  had 
already  read  two  thrilling  stories  about  pirates,  had 
taken  one  nap,  and  with  idiotic  gaze  was  drawing 
straws  in  the  candle,  when  the  girl  Dinah  looked  into 
the  kitchen.  The  chief  emotion  of  fear  being  tempora 
rily  removed  from  the  bosom  of  Gluckinson,  by  the 
absence  of  its  cause,  had  given  ample  room  therein,  at 
this  time,  for  the  play  of  those  of  an  amatory  nature. 
It  was  not  a  matter  of  surprise,  therefore,  that  on 
Dinah's  entering  into  a  cheerful  conversation  with  him, 
and  pleasing  him  with  her  attention,  his  remarks  in 
reply  to  her,  which  first  glowed  with  the  tinge  of  es 
teem,  were  soon  imperceptibly  heightened  to  the  warm 
color  of  personal  affection.  His  admiration  for  her,  in 
fact,  soon  became  so  inconvenient  to  himself,  that  he 


DINAH. 

was  forced  to  disclose  his  passion  on  the  spot,  and  call 
her  in  ardent  terms  his  "  sweet  holly-hock,"  accom 
panying  the  dulcet  epithet,  with  a  pantomime  expres 
sive  of  his  desire  to  ornament  his  bosom  with  her. 

"  Tell  me  about  that  pirate  with  long  hair,  and 
Medora !  "  said  the  young  girl. 

"  Oh,  b'rnine  !  b'niine  !  "  continued  the  infatuated 
youth. 

"  Come  tell  me  James,  did  you  like  Medora  ?  " 

"  How  much  money  do  you  expect  to  have.  It 
little  matters.  What  has  love  to  do  with  bank-bills. 
That's  what  I  heard  Mr.  Charles  say  to  Misses  "Well- 
wood.  Oh,  you  ought  to  have  seen  'em  !  They  were 
seated  in  the  parlor.  Suddenly,  she  was  -about  to  make 
a  remark,  but  didn't,  and  then  he  said  somethin'  in 
reply,  and  then  she  said  somethin',  and  then  he  made 
another  remark,  which  hurt  my  feelings.  He  told  me 
to  «  Get  out.' " 

"  He  didn't  mean  to  be  harsh,  James.  He  is  kind 
and  good." 

"  I  know  it.  He  isn't  as  good  as  you  are. — Say, 
wilt  ?  Wilt  2  "  continued  the  youth. 

"  Stay,  I  hear  some  one  coming  in  the  path." 

"  Oh,  dear  !  It's  the  cook.  I  see  her.  Won't  you 
open  the  door  please.  She'll  grab  me.  Oh  my  !  Oba- 
diah's  coming  too,  and  another  man.  Ha !  fate.  Now's 
the  time,"  continued  he,  with  a  sudden  change  of  man 
ner,  "  Aha  !  strike  !  "  muttered  he,  gritting  his  teeth, 
and  giving  other  evidences  of  sudden  ferocity.  "  She 
has  stopped  to  look  at  the  soap.  Fate  is  jerking  her 
back  for  a  moment  so  I  can  get  started.  What  do  you 
want  here  ?  "  said  he,  with  an  irreducible  mixture  of  a 
scowl  and  a  wink,  as  Baylon  and  his  friend  entered/ 


180  DINAH. 

\ 

"  Eli,  I  want  a  chair,  James,"  said  Baylon. 

"  What !  yon  want  a  chair  !     I'll  chair  you  !  " 

"  Eh  ?  "  said  Baylon. 

"  Do  you  aiFront  me  ? "  continued  Gluckinson, 
fiercely,  "  I  want  to  know  if  you  came  here  to  pick  a 
quarrel  with  me  ?  I  want  to  know  it  ?  You're  pious, 
and  have  been  my  friend  ;  but  no  man  makes  an  ass  of 
me,  whether  he  comes  from  a  prayer-meeting  with 
women  or  not !  " 

"  You  forget  yourself,"  said  Baylon,  in  some 
astonishment. 

"  Do  you  twit  me  ?  Mind  your  business.  I  care 
not  for  any  man's  piety  or  bluster.  I  will  kick  any 
man  down  stairs  here,  who  can't  behave  like  a  gentle 
man."  At  this  point,  Baylon's  friend  looked  at  the 
fell-minded  youth.  "Ha!  This  is  your  friend  is  it  ?  You 
brought  bullies  here  to  back  you,  did  you  ?  (sotto-voce: 
I'll  quarrel  with  him  a  little ;  you  protect  me.)  AVho 
are  you  looking  at,  sir  ?  " 

"What?  Who  is  this?"  asked  the  friend  of 
Baylon. 

"  Let  him  alone,  I  think  he  has  been  drinking,"  re 
plied  Baylon. 

"  Let  me  alone  !  You  say  that.  You  bring  your 
bullies  here  do  you.  If  any  man  in  this  room,  be  he  a 
bully  or  not,  doesn't  confine  his  language  properly,  I'll 
throw  this  tea-pot  at  his  head !  I  mention  no  names, 
I  quarrel  with  no  one,  I  say,  but  I  won't  be  bullied 
by  any  person  or  persons.  Away  from  this  house,  I 
have  knocked  people  on  the  head  before  this." 

"  Oh,  dear,  what  has  got  into  him  ? "  said  the  cook, 
"  and  may  be  he's  got  a  pistil !  " 

"  Ha  !  let  no  one  come  near  me,"  continued  Gluck- 


DINAH.  181 

inson,  with  renewed  vigor.  "  I  say,  if  matters  come  to 
worse,  it  will  be  useless  to  attempt  to  hold  me.  !No 
bully  shall  attempt  to  hold  me  !  " 

"  Let  the  drunken  fool  go  out,"  proposed  the  friend. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  inquired  the  puzzled  Bay- 
Ion  of  the  young  man. 

"  "What  is  that  to  you  ?  "  continued  Gluckinson.  "  If 
any  man  makes  himself  my  enemy,  I  don't  care  a  straw 
whether  I  tell  him  his  father's  a  bitch  or  not.  You 
come  here  to  attack  a  man,  in  the  sacred  precincts  of 
his  own  kitchen,  do  you  ?  Yery  well !  Yery  well ! 
~No  blackguard  can  succeed  in  scaring  me." 

"  This  is  a  nice  humor.  What  do  you  mean  by  this 
foolery  ?  "  repeated  Baylon,  rubbing  his  top-knot  in 
irritation,  as  he  had  been  particularly  desirous  of  ap 
pearing  with  a  borrowed  dignity  in  presence  of  the  girl. 

"  Eh  !  what !  foolery !    Don't  you  remember  ? — " 

"  Fool,  what  do  you  mean  by  addressing  this  gen 
tleman  here  in  this  manner  ?  " 

("  He  calls  me  a  fool !  It  is  a  hint  for  me  to  draw 
off.)  Oh,  you  say  he  is  a  gentleman,  do  you  ?  Yery 
well.  Let  it  be,  then.  I'll  say  no  more  now.  If  he 
conducts  himself  properly,  I'll  consent  to  say  nothing 
more  on  the  subject.  But  you  can  both  remember, 
that  no  blackguards,  pious  ones  or  any  others,  had  bet 
ter  attempt  to  intimidate  me,  either  in  this  room  or 
anywhere  else.  I  protect  my  rights.  I  am  the  child 
of  fate,  and  when  I  hear  her  alarum — (the  bell,  here 
rung) — I  have  got  to  carry  hot  water  up  stairs.  Do  you 
understand,  cook  ?  You  see  me.  Hooray !  "  con 
cluded  he,  looking  at  her  with  an  insane  scowl. 

"  Oh,  he's  taken  mad  !  "  said  the  cook,  who,  unlike 
Governor  Pickens,  was  not  born,  insensible  to  fear. 


182  DINAH. 

"  What's  the  meaning  ?  Oh,  I  am  much  obliged  to 
you,  Mr.  Obadiah,  and  you  Mr.  Sucker,  (Mr.  Sucker 
was  an  attentive  coachman  of  one  of  the  neighbors), 
for  coming  over  with  me.  It  is  so  delightful  to 
feel  religious,  especially  since  they  have  let  the  men 
and  women  sit  together  in  the  chapel — but  what  is  the 
matter  with  him,  Miss  Dinah  ?  Oh,  dear !  has  he  got  a 
pistil  ?  "  continued  she,  under  the  exaggerations  of  con 
science,  and  under  the  influence  of  a  suspicion,  also, 
rushing  into  a  closet  and  holding  a  bottle  up  to  the  light, 
"  I  am  so  glad  he's  gone  away  !  " 

Lingering  at  the  singular  demonstrations  of  ag 
gression  on  the  part  of  the  truculent  Gluckinson, 
Dinah  had  rested  near  the  door,  which  she  was  about 
leaving. 

"  Good  evening,  Miss  Dinah !  "  said  the  overseer 
Baylon,  with  a  cringing  bow  to  her.  "  I  spoke  to  you 
once,  and  you  didn't  answer  me." 

A  look  of  scorn  and  contempt  passed  over  her  face. 

"  I  thought  I  would  stop  in  as  came  along,  and 
perhaps  I  might  see  your  father." 

The  girl  consented  to  a  few  moments  of  private  con- 
-versation,  which  he  now  humbly  begged  to  have  with 
her. 

Mr.  Sucker  was  desirous  of  showing  in  a  peculiar 
manner,  to  his  friend  thp  cook,  that  he  didn't  in 
clude  her  of  course,  in  the  statement  which  he  had 
made  in  meeting,  that  he  felt  himself  safe  for  salva 
tion,  and  didn't  care  a  tinker's  anathema,  who  else 
wasn't,  and  he  seated  himself  with  her,  in  a  distant  cor 
ner  of  the  spacious  kitchen,  leaving  Dinah  with  the 
overseer.  As  the  latter  continued  to  converse  with  the 
girl  in  a  low  tone,  she  was  so  much  his  superior  at 


DINAH.  183 

least,  that  it  seemed  like  the  damned  son  of  Circe,  and 
a  Lady  who  was  her  own  Sabrina.  There  was  an  ap 
pearance  certainly,  of  her  clearly  understanding  what 
he  secretly  meant,  and  of  convincing  him  of  her  knowl 
edge,  of  that  which  he  though  the  could  conceal ; 
for  he  seemed  disposed  more  than  once  to  slink  away. 
Indeed,  in  spite  of  himself,  the  presence  of  this  young 
girl  seemed  always  to  exercise  a  tormenting  power  over 
the  fellow,  in  lifting  him,  temporarily  at  least,  from  his 
vulgar  and  wicked  habits  of  thought,  and  kindling  in 
his  bosom  some  ludicrously  exasperating  aspirations 
after  principles,  which  he  felt  he  was  not  made  to 
attain.  The  glory  with  which  his  mind  was  thus 
informed,  was  tantalizing  to  him :  the  momentary 
awakening  from  his  besottedness,  was  but  into  a  horrid 
dream  of  virtue. 

At  the  close  of  the  conversation,  every  thing  was 
quiet  in  the  kitchen.  The  cook  and  her  friend  had 
walked  out  into  the  garden,  and  only  the  slight  hum 
of  a  young  fly  might  be  heard,  as  she  spurned  the  nets 
of  a  spider  upon  the  ceiling.  With  a  proud  look  of 
conscious  superiority,  the  girl  told  him  plainly,  she 
knew  what  a  false  traitor  he  was  in  heart.  "  Why  do 
you  attempt  to  deceive  me?  You  think  you  have 
power  over  us,  but  I  can  thwart  you  !  " 

The  man  acknowledged  her  power  in  a  submissive 
posture,  and  with  a  cringing  smile,  seemed  anxious  to 
win  her  favor.  "  Why  are  you  vexed  ?  Why  do  you 
frown  ?  Have — "  The  smile  upon  her  countenance 
drove  away  that  upon  his,  as  a  good  angel  drives  away 
a  fallen  one  ;  and  he  fled  into  the  night  like  the  false 
enchanter,  his  wand  snatched  from  his  grasp  and  re 
versed,  with  backward  mutters. 


184:  DINAH. 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 


A.    VISION. 


TOWARDS  twilight,  Charles  betook  himself  with 
some  secrecy,  to  the  place  of  assignation-  with  the 
young  girl  in  whom  he  was  taking  such  a  singular  in 
tellectual  interest.  As  he  rode  along,  having  mounted 
his  horse  for  an  appropriate  concealment,  he  felt  that 
an  oppressive  gloom,  had  lowered  over  his  feelings, 
occasioned  perhaps  by  the  breathless  state  of  the  at 
mosphere.  The  sun  had  gone  down  in  cloudless  splen 
dor,  conflagrating  the  pure  ether  of  the  west,  and  a  late 
dusk  of  purple  was  now  darkening  in  unusual  still 
ness  over  the  scene.  Passing  along  by  a  farm-yard,  in 
which  the  milky  mothers  were  awaiting  with  distended 
udders  the  coming  of  the  cow-boy,  he  observed  that 
they  now  and  then  gazed  in  boding  silence  into  the  heav 
ens,  or,  with  a  deep  breath  expelled  slowly  from  their 
nostrils,  stopped  the  chewing  of  the  cud  in  unison  as  it 
were,  to  observe  the  scene  with  rueful  gaze.  One  or  two 
heifers  were  engaged  in  a  belligerent  shock  of  horns ; 
and  a  young  and  vigorous  bull  with  a  wild  eye,  was 
rushing  about  eccentrically,  as  though  a  demoniac  spirit 
had  temporarily  taken  possession  of  his  muscles,  par 
ticularly  those  of  his  tail. 

Seated  upon  a  fallen  tree  in  an  adjacent  forest,  with 
the  shadows  of  the  wood  around  him,  the  light  crack 
ling  of  the  branches  first  aroused  the  young  man  from 
the  revery  into  which  he  had  fallen,  and  apprised  him 
of  one,  who  now  stood  by  his  side.  "  I  have  come  to 
meet  you,"  said  she,  quietly.  So  soft  had  been  those 


DINAH.  185 

little  foot-falls,  that  diaries  exclaimed  in  surprise, 
"  Why,  Hebe  !  how  did  you  come  ? " 

"  In  a  chariot  drawn  by  peacocks,"  said  she,  with  a 
laugh. 

"  I  have  asked  you  to  come  and  meet  me  thus 
alone,  Dinah — because,  you  know — " 

"  You  want  to  be  secret  for  my  sake."  She  did  not 
add,  that  there  \vas  perhaps  still  in  his  mind,  unknown 
to  him,  the  lingering  thought,  that  his  interest  in  her 
might  turn  out  to  be  illy  taken. 

"  But  it  is  going  to  rain,  and  I  can't  stay  long." 
There  was  a  restlessness  in  her  manner,  and  she  looked 
around,  as  if  some  one  might  be  coming  in  the  wood. 

They  sat  down  together  on  the  fallen  tree.  In  the 
distance  through  the  glade,  might  be  seen  the  tall  cliffs, 
overhanging  the  rivulet,  and  forming  the  side  of  the 
gorge  through  which  it  run,  and  at  one  particular  spot 
a  platform-rock  on  high,  celebrated  as  the  place  of  soli 
tary  communion  with  their  Maker,  of  the  race  now 
passed  away.  The  sound  of  the  brook  fell  on  the  ear, 
and  that  was  about  all  to  disturb  the  silence.  Under 
the  simple  influence  of  nature,  the  girl  seemed  sud 
denly  to  forget  the  presence  of  the  young  man,  and 
listen  to  voices  which  he  did  not  hear.  Thus  there  was 
a  pause,  even  at  the  outset  of  their  conversation  ;  for  he 
unconsciously  awaited  the  breaking  of  her  revery. 
Such  was  the  sympathy  of  being  between  them,  that 
this  took  place  as  a  natural  part  of  their  intercourse. 
The  horse  moved  irregularly  amid  the  bushes,  around 
the  tree  to  which  he  was  tied. 

"  What  is  that  ?  "  said  the  girl,  rousing  from  her 
thoughts.  "  Did  you  come  on  your  horse  ? — and  I  walk- 


186  DINAH. 

ed  all  the  way  hero  to  meet  you.  I  wouldn't  have 
come,  unless  you  had  commanded  me.  It  isn't  right." 

The  two  were  like  two  young  men  together,  whose 
friendship  was  warm  for  each  other. 

"  Have  you  done  wrong  simply  because  I  com 
manded  you  ? " 

"  No,  I  want  to  be  guilty  of  impropriety.  It  is 
romantic.  I  don't  like  to  walk  in  the  paths  to  which 
society  has  restricted  me.  Yes,  I  suppose  every  one  is 
so,"  concluded  she,  with  a  sigh  and  an  indescribable 
gesture. 

"  When  I  was  a  little  boy,  I  used  to  steal  lumps  of 
sugar.  They  were  a  great  deal  sweeter  than  those  they 
gave  me." 

"  Yes,  I  remember  once  mother  gave  me  a  chapter 
or  two  of  the  Bible  to  learn,  and  I  did  not  wish  to,  but 
telling  me  one  day,  that  it  was  not  best  to  learn  too 
much  of  the  Scriptures  at  one  time,  I  immediately  went 
to  a  secret  place,  and  committed  the  whole  of  St.  Luke 
to  memory,  in  a  fit  of  opposition.  It's  for  liberty — for 
liberty—" 

Charles  noticed  her  eager  way — "  What  would  you 
do  now  ? "  said  he,  "  if  you  could  do  as  you  should 
please,  in  the  wide  range  of  the  universe  ? " 

"  Let  me  see — I'd — I'd  torture  good  people,  so  I 
could  have  the  pleasure  of  being  forgiven  by  them  " 
said  she,  with  a  smile  at  the  affectation. 

"  I  believe  that  is  what  refined  tyrants  desire  when 
they  flay  martyrs.  It  is ;  Isn't  it  ?  That  is  a  hidden 
luxury.  I  suppose  forgiving  would  be  flat  to  you." 

"  You  know  we  like  to  see  that  in  others,  better 
than  to  practice  it  ourselves.  But  I've  never  had 


DINAH.  187 

an  opportunity.  However,  I  suppose  if  I  ever  had  one, 
I  might  do  it,  just  a  little  and  by  degrees.  I  would  be 
very  angry  at  first,  though.  But  the  hardest  is,  to  for 
give  those  who  injure  the  ones  you  love.  I  cannot — 
cannot — Yes,  I  will  too,"  said  she,  changing  in  the 
most  sudden  and  decided  manner.  "  No,  I  won't 
either !  " 

"  How  can  you  tell !  You  don't  know  what  you'll 
do.  You  don't  know  yourself." 

"  I  know  that !  I  know  that !  What"  do  I  care 
about  knowing  myself.  I  want  to  study  some  one 
else." 

"  Well,  you  can  study  me,  if  you  desire." 

"  You  are  very  kind.  You  wish  to  offer  me  a 
splendid  classic  to  read,  do  you  not  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  I  have  no  doubt  now,  but  that  you 
would  find  new  beauties  in  me,  to  the  end  of  your  exis 
tence." 

The  girl  smiled.  Perhaps  it  indicated  that  she 
knew  already,  by  intuition  of  human  nature,  more  of 
his  beauties  and  his  faults,  than  he  did  himself. 

"  But  why  do  you  not  care  about  knowing  yourself, 
Dinah?  Do  you  not  like  your  own  thoughts  and 
feelings  ? " 

"  Oh,  no !  Let  me  not  think  of  myself.  "No,  not 
now  !  "  exclaimed  she,  earnestly,  and  apparently  ere  she 
was  aware. 

She  might  indeed  be  referring  to  the  condition  in 
which  she  was  placed,  by  her  father's  degradation  and 
crime,  but  there  appeared  to  him  for  the  moment, 
some  thing  slightly  deeper  in  her  manner. 

It  was  here  that  he  was  induced  to  allude  in  an  in 
definite  way,  to  the  inclination  which  had  been  grow- 


188  DINAH. 

ing  -within  him,  to  ask  for  her  confidence  and  friend 
ship.  There  was  no  necessity  for  his  guardedness,  for 
she  seemed  fully  aware,  that  the  benevolence  which 
chiefly  characterized  his  intentions, -was  lofty  and  hon 
orable,  and  was  such  as  should  stir  her  to  a  passionate 
expression  of  gratitude.  That  heart  which  appeared  to 
be  beating  fuller  and  stronger  at  the  moment,  that 
vigor  which  lent  energy  to  her  words,  indicated  to  him, 
that  his  benevolence  would  assuredly  be  rightly  re 
paid  by  its'  young,  yet  appreciative  recipient.  Indeed, 
at  the  moment,  although  her  intelligence  may  have  told 
her  that  it  was  perhaps  but  an  ephemeral  weed,  -which 
he  had  carelessly  permitted  to  spring  up  in  his  bosom, 
possessing  none  of  the  fibres  of  a  lasting  and  hardy 
plant,  she  did  not  restrain  her  nature  from  graciously 
shedding  upon  it  a  few  apparently  sincere  tears. 

In  the  ensuing  conversation,  which  soon  returned  to 
the  channels  of  pleasant  badinage,  and  which  confirmed 
the  intellectual  as  well  as  moral  interest  which  he  was 
taking  in  the  girl,  he  concluded  it  inexpedient,  did  not 
wish,  or  perhaps  saw  not  the  opportunity,  to  refer  to 
her  relations  with  young  Warriston  ;  and  in  the  real 
pleasure  which  the  interview  afibrded  him,  he  would 
fain  have  prolonged  it  to  a  greater  extent,  had  not 
Dinah  suddenly  aroused  as  if  from  a  dream — had  not 
the  restlessness  of  manner  which  was  noticeable  on  her 
coming,  and  which  may  have  been  the  simple  warning 
of  prudence,  possessed  her  again  after  a  short  period. 

The  evening  air  was  still,  the  sky  was  quite  dark, 
and  as  she  now  looked  into  the  wood  and  along  the 
pathway,  she  rose  quickly  and  said,  "  I  must  go,  sir. 
It  will  rain  before  we  get  back." 


DINAH.  189 

"  Oh,  no  !  not  to-night.  Not  until  towards  morn- 
ing." 

"  But  I  don't  want  to  stay  here  any  longer.  How 
foolish  for  you  to  come  all  this  way  into  a  dark  wood, 
to  talk  to  one — to  one — who  cannot — "  She  laughed 
with  apparent  acrimony  ;  and  the  young  man  thought 
she  was  ridiculing  him,  as  if  she  were  his  superior  in 
arrangement  of  such  plots.  "  But  I  will  go." 

"  Stay,  you  must,"  said  Charles.  "  Don't  go  yet. 
I'll  take  you  near  to  the  house  on  my  horse." 

"  If  you  were  going  to  fly  up,  away  up  into  the 
heavens  witli  him,  I  might  be  induced  to  get  on." 

"  I  command  you  to  stay." 

"What  did  you  say,  sir?"  said  she,  smiling  and 
pretending  not  to  have  understood  him,  as  she 
ran  down  the  dark  glade,  ere  he  knew  it.  A  sud 
den  waft  of  wind  coming  through  the  trees,  here 
swept  over  the  young  man,  and  sped  across  the  fields 
beyond,  to  die  away  in  the  distance  with  mournful 
sound.  Its  swell  and  fall  seemed  as  if  a  trembling  chord 
had  been  touched  in  mistake,  by  the  grand  old  harper, 
ere  he  commenced  to  strike  up  his  symphony  of  the 
storm.  As  the  young  girl  ran,  he  rose,  but  lingered, 
for  he  felt  he  ought  to  let  her  go,  and  yet  it  was  against 
his  will.  She  turned  and  bowed  to  him  two  or  three 
times  in  a  laughing  manner,  a?  she  walked  courteously 
backwards  from  his  presence,  and  at  a  bend  in  the  open 
ing  disappeared  from  his  gaze.  "  Well,  I  will  let  her 
go,  she  is  ever  prudent.  It  is  best  for  her  to  be  at 
home,  and  I  must  take  my  quadruped.  But  the  next 
time  I'll  come  on  foot  as  she  did !  "  continued  he,  as  he 
rode  along  the  still  road  which  he  had  reached.  "It 
will  not  rain  for  two  or  three  hours  yet — there  is  not  a 


190  DINAH. 

cloud  in  the  heavens,  though  it  is  dark  enough  and  warm 
enough,  whew!"  Plunged  in  reflections  upon  the  sin 
gular  character  of  their  object,  he  sauntered,  perhaps 
for  a  full  hour's  space,  in  an  irregular  career,  and  finally 
with  his  horse's  head  towards  the  distant  village,  while 
the  frequent  sighing  warnings  of  the  air  were  lost  upon 
him  in  his  abstraction.  Reaching  the  main  road,  his 
prudence  was  at  last  aroused  as  a  dull  muttering  fell  on 
his  ear,  and  turning  towards  his  home,  he  spurred  his 
horse  to  a  brisker  pace.  In  the  glimmering  of  the  sky 
he  observed  that  the  threatening  clouds  were  slowly 
rolling  up  from  the  horizon  to  conflict  in  the  mid 
heav.ens,  and  the  wind  was  now  commencing  to  sway 
the  moaning  trees  and  sweep  briskly  over  the  fields. 
The  horse  increased  his  trot  in  the  darkness,  now  and 
then  shying  at  the  dark  boughs  bowing  in  the  gloom, 
or  stopping  to  show  his  paws  in  fear  to  the  coming  de 
mons  of  the  storm,  as  they  lit  up  the  gathering  clouds 
with  electric  fire.  At  last,  as  the  young  man  was  near- 
ing  the  old  church,  a  living  chain  leaped  out  of  a  dark, 
dull  cloud  above  the  trees  forward,  at  which  he  was 
gazing  in  apprehensive  speculation,  into  the  sea  of  light 
er  gloom  around,  rattling  with  a  deafening  crash  its 
links  to  the  ground  in  the  distance,  and  the  rain  came 
rushing  down  in  torrents.  The  horse  bellowed  almost 
in  his  high-mettled  poltroonery,  and  the  disordered 
young  man  with  difficulty  kept  his  seat,  as  again  with 
a  nearer  sound  of  thunder  the  lightning  illumined  the 
steeple  of  the  church.  The  supernatural  fighting  of  the 
hour  seemed  directly  over  the  church,  and  the  sacred 
spire  looked  as  though  it  were  a  quiet  finger  of  scorn 
pointed  at  the  demons  in  battle  above.  Charles,  seek 
ing  shelter  in  a  place  safe  from  the  lightning,  rode 


DINAH.  191 

his  steed  up  the  marble  steps  and  between  the  pil 
lars  of  the  consecrated  portico.  There  as  with  frequent 
peals  of  thunder  the  livid  sheets  or  chains  of  lightning, 
lit  up  the  darkness,  he  retained  the  bridle  of  his  horse, 
and  occupied  the  lingering  in  patting  his  neck,  in  whis 
pering  loving  words  of  encouragement  into  his  ear,  or  in 
contrasting  the  warring  discordance  of  the  hour  with  the 
radiant  satin  sun-scenes  of  peace  he  had  so  often  seen 
spread  over  the  place.  While  the  contending  demons 
fought  with  new  noises  in  the  air,  he  imagined  he  saw 
the  grinning  angry  faces  and  undefined  forms  of  the 
monsters  about  the  church.  A  drunken  whoop  struck 
in  his  ear  amid  the  sound  of  the  ceaseless  rain  and  the 
fitful  thunder.  "What  was  it?  lie  was  startled  from 
his  position  of  subdued  wonder.  Again,  and  here 
amidst  this  trouble,  that  singular  voice  which  he  had 
heard  in  his  dream,  and  on  the  misty  lake,  once  more 
was  firmly  projected  into  reality  by  the  wild  eccentricity 
of  his  imagination.  lie  trembled  with  physical  fear, 
for  it  was  again  and  as  clearly  repeated.  It  was  now 
uttered  in  a  mingled  tone  of  mockery  and  exultation, 
and  it  seemed  to  come  not  from  the  air,  but  from  amid 
the  lonely  graves  in  the  churchyard.  A  bright  flash  of 
lightning  suddenly  revealed  the  tombs  and  monuments 
in  death-white  reflection,  and  amid  them  a  brief  and 
consectary  sight  struck  his  vision  at  the  distant  part  of 
the  churchyard.  Over  one  of  the  graves  bent  a  being, 
scratching  feebly  at  the  top  of  the  mound  like  a  half- 
starved  vampire.  His  long  hair  was  dishevelled  by  the 
rain  and  the  wind;  and  his  countenance,  dripping  with 
water,  was  turned  up  towards  the  sky.  On  that  face  by 
the  flash  Charles  saw  an  unnatural  look,  and  the  fierce 
wiklness  of  wicked  passions.  He  raised  his  voice,  and 


192  DINAH. 

dragged  his  cliicken-liearted  drawback  with  a  clatter 
down  the  steps  to  tie  him  to  the  iron  fence.  Amid  the 
rushing  of  the  rain  lie  heard  a  feeble  cry.  Again  a 
quick  flash  lit  up  the  scene,  and  he  saw  that  the  object 
of  his  intense  curiosity  had  disappeared  behind  the 
tombs  or  the  church !  He  ran  quickly  towards  the 
place ;  but  the  storm  was  raging  with  greater  fury,  the 
heavens  blazed  but  to  dazzle,  and  the  rain,  swept  for 
ward  by  the  rushing  blast,  struck  his  face  and  distracted 
his  motions  with  blindness.  Wonder  when  tinged  with 
a  feeling  of  the  supernatural  is  as  confusing  as  fear,  in 
the  pursuit  of  discovery.  The  excitation  of  curiosity,  the 
interest  of  pride,  the  intoxication  of  enthusiasm,  are  sub 
dued  by  even  a  slight  connection  perceived  between  a 
fact  attested  by  the  senses  and  a  superhuman  power. 
Was  it  the  imagination  that,  amid  the  grandeur  of  the 
hour  and  at  the  dim  suggestive  sight  of  the  old  pioneer's 
tomb,  had  thrown  out  not  only  the  gibbering  voice  but 
even  the  apparition  of  the  ghostly  hero  ?  That  the  crea 
tive  power  should  so  overwork  itself,  is  but  a  rare 
possibility  and  connected  with  a  disordered  state  of  the 
body,  which  the  young  man's  health  belied ;  and  thus  he 
now  stumbled  about  in  this  wild  nightmare's  nest  with 
the  feeling  that  the  singular  being  he  had  seen  might 
be  for  all  he  knew  in  funereal  proximity  to  him,  or 
might  be  more  happily  dropping  downward  through  the 
welkin  of  hell,  or  riding  away  in  the  air  by  the  side  of 
his  paramour  at  the  head  of  a  host  of  witches.  He  saw 
him  not  nor  heard  him  again  in  his  prolonged  and  con 
fused  search ;  and  though  he  might  conjecture,  for  such  a 
scene,  many  natural  avenues  of  appearance  and  dis 
appearance  easy  to  be  traversed  by  earthly  feet,  he 
returned  amid  the  driving  rain  towards  his  horse  in  an 


D  IK  All.  193 

excited  bewilderment,  which  proceeded  from  the  very 
correctness  of  his  reasoning.  The  animal  was  rearing  at 
the  lightning,  and  had  already  broken  the  bridle  in  his 
terror  at  being  left  alone ;  and  the  young  man,  remem 
bering  the  holiness  of  the  temple's  precincts,  led  him 
away  to  the  sheds.  As  soon  as  a  lighter  gloom  perva 
ded  the  heavens  and  a  renewed  search  was  unrewarded, 
he  ventured  on  his  way  home,  with  a  mind  filled  with 
varied  speculations  at  the  singular  scene  of  which  he 
had  been  a  witness.  Were  there  such  things  in  the 
grand  system  of  nature  as  the  visitation  of  supernatural 
beings  to  the  human  senses?  Was  it  the  pioneer 
emerged  from  his  grave  in  his  doomed  wandering  to 
meet  his  pale  mistress,  and  disclosed  in  the  very  act  of 
smoothing  in  wild  apprehension  of  discovery  the  mound 
lie  had  disturbed?  While  Charles  would  fain  laugh 
at  what  he  deemed  a  childish  absurdity,  he  was  still 
forced  to  acknowledge  the  overwhelming  power  of  the 
sense  of  solemnity  which  possessed  him,  in  reflecting 
upon  the  convicted  fact  that  this  mystery,  whatever  it 
was,  was  connected  with  humanity  in  his  view,  through 
the  young  girl  Dinah.  Thus  even  in  the  interview  immedi 
ately  antecedent  to  this  apparition  had  he  accumulatively 
felt  that  her  restlessness  of  manner  was  indicative  of 
some  powerful  warning  which  she  seemed  to  obey  even 
in  the  high  honor  and  purity  of  her  nature.  Was  it 
fear  for  her  fate,  was  it  the  pity  of  a  sympathetic  na 
ture,  which  thus  possessed  him  ?  Even  if  it  were  such, 
it  was  more  interesting  to  him  in  its  delicacy  than  the 
fanciful  theory  with  which  it  was  consonant  but  not 
necessarily  postulative,  that  the  pioneer  still  roamed,  and 
that  this  young  creature  with  all  her  warm  and  breath- 
9 


194  DINAH. 

ing  humanity,  was  a  being  of  another  existence  eking 
out  a  spell-bound  span  in  earthly  fooling. 

On  his  return  to  the  mansion  all  was  dark  and  silent ; 
and,  observing  in  the  unrequiting  particularity  of  his 
survey  that  no  light  was  visible  in  Dinah's  room,  he  re- 
retired  to  his  room  overwhelmed  with  the  growing  per 
plexity. 


CHAPTEK   XXYII. 

THE   DENIAL   OF   CONFIDENCE. 

THE  next  morning,  wliich  was  a  bright  sunny  one, 
with  a  refreshing  air  after  the  last  night's  storm, 
Charles  took  an  early  opportunity  to  converse  with 
Dinah's  father,  as  he  was  engaged  in  his  light  and 
cheerful  labor,  amid  the  shaded  bushes  of  the  park. 
In  answer  to  many  questions,  wliich  he  put  to  the  old 
man  in  a  guarded  manner,  respecting  his  former  and 
his  present  life,  for  the  purpose  of  evolving  something 
which  might  bear  upon  the  character  of  the  young  girl, 
it  seemed  evident,  that  whatever  may  have  been  the 
relations  in  which  she  was  now  engaged,  they  were 
wholly  concealed  from  the  parent  also.  His  history  of 
his  former  existence,  was  much  the  same  as  that  which 
Dinah,  and  he  himself,  had  given  upon  former  occa 
sions.  When  he  neared  the  crime  of  which  he  had  been 
guilty,  and  of  which  he  was  now  certainly  repentant,  the 
young  man  spared  the  blushes  of  the  wrrinkled  face, 
by  a  speedy  diversion  of  his  thoughts,  and  felt  as  he 


DINAH.  195 

observed  this  broken-down  old  man,  that  the  daughter 
could  indeed  have  concealed  her  affairs  from  him  with 
as  much  naturalness  as  a  father  would  from  a  child  of 
tender  years.  The  old  man  upon  this  occasion  ap 
peared  to  rejoice  in  the  particular  fact  that  they  had 
paid  some  of  their  debts,  and  as  usual  in  the  general 
one,  that  Dinah  was  a  brave  child,  in  whom  he  was  to 
rely  in  his  old  age. 

After  breakfast,  the  mother  and  aunt  drove  to  the 
post-office,  and  while  the  domestics  were  variously  en 
gaged,  the  wished  opportunity  of  approaching  the  girl 
herself,  without  fear  of  interruption  or  misconstruction, 
was  presented  to  Charles.  It  was  with  heightened 
interest  that  he  sought  this  interview,  and  more  par 
ticularly  as  he  entered  her  presence,  a  certain  conver 
sation  with  his  mother  happened  to  strike  his  memory, 
in  which  she  had  advanced  the  fancy,  that  in  the  midst 
of  the  lovely  looks  of  the  young  inmate  of  their  house, 
in  spite  of  the  natural  indications  of  that  soft  voice, 
and  of  that  mild  and  gentle  eye,  she  thought  she  could 
see,  at  times,  the  dull  appearance  of  treacherous  cun 
ning.  But  that  very  softness  of  her  presence  seemed  to 
disarm  him  at  once  of  any  theories  which  would  have 
made  his  conversation  stern,  and  there  appeared  only 
at  the  moment,  in  the  graciousness  of  her  nature,  some 
thing  which  seemed  of  a  higher  existence,  one  more 
spiritual  than  wickedness  would  dwell  with. 

"  Dinah,  you  are  very  young,"  commenced  he, 
kindly,  but  he  looked  at  her  steadily,  "  and  perhaps  in 
spite  of  that  quick  perception  of  human  nature  which 
you  possess,  may  still  fall  into  circumstances  hereafter, 
in  which  you  will  regret  that  you  have  not  offered  to 
learn  the  rules  of  life  you  need,  from  some  older  and 


196  DINAH. 

more  experienced  friend.  It  is  this  secretiveness  that 
I  would  censure.  Your  conversation  led  me  to  believe 
that  nature  has  given  to  you  powers  which,  if  exerted 
in  the  right  direction,  will  not  only  secure  happiness  to 
you,  but  even  bestow  it  upon  others,  who  may  come  in 
contact  with  you  hereafter,  however  humble  destiny 
may  make  your  social  position.  Although  your  actions 
cannot  have  any  other  personal  interest  to  me,  still  I 
would,  as  one  who  strives  to  do  good  when  he  sees  his 
efforts  may  be  successful,  warn  you  that,  unconsciously 
to  yourself  even,  there  may  be  transmitted  to  you  cer 
tain  hereditary  faults — "  He  paused.  The  young  girl 
blushed  to  a  deep  carnation,  and  turned  from  her  still 
and  listening  position.  "  I  mean  not,"  continued  the 
young  man,  gently,.  "  to  unnecessarily  allude  to  the 
misfortunes  which  you  could  not  help,  and  for  which 
you  ought  not  to  suffer,"  (the  girl's  eyes  glittered  grate 
fully,)  "  but  does  it  not  seem  to  you  beneficial  to  your 
self  to  repose  confidence  in  an  older  and  more  expe 
rienced — friend,  as  I  willingly  have  constituted  myself 
to  you,  in  one  who  has  solicited  it  for  your  own  wel 
fare  as  I  have  ?  And  have  I  not  the  right,  as  master 
of  this  house,  Dinah,  to  protect  its  inmates  from  the 
irregularities  or  improprieties  of  those  who  are  paid  to 
serve  them  ? " 

The  young  girl  started  quickly  at  the  last  words  of 
the  young  man,  but  as  quickly  repressed  the  movement. 
She  looked  him  steadily  in  the  face.  There  was  no 
apparent  preparation  for  a  denial,  which  might  have 
been  successful ;  no  affected  astonishment,  nor  was 
this  look  a  pretended  look  of  inquiry.  She  even  said, 
coolly,  "  I  know  it  is  wrong  for  a  servant  to  be  away 
from  the  house  of  her  master  so  late  at  night  as  I  was, 


DIKAH.  197 

but  had  I  not  sanction  ever  to  transcend  this  rule  ? " 
continued  she,  in  a  kind  of  sharp  way,  as  if  she  were 
right,  "  to  meet  one  who  loves  me,  and  should  love 
those  whom  I — serve  ?  "  A  smile  took  its  place  upon 
her  countenance,  as  though  simply  under  the  sentimen 
tal  insinuation  which  she  had  made,  she  felt  safe  in  her 
secret,  and  could  afford  to  flaunt  it  before  his  ad 
vertence. 

The  young  man  asked  himself  what  he  was  trying 
to  prove.  To  corroborate  a  theory  of  the  supernatural, 
founded  upon  an  airy  sound,  which  might  easily  have 
been  an  exaggeration  of  his  fancy.  The  repeated  re 
currence  of  the  voice  of  his  dream,  was  the  only  chain 
of  inexplicable  wonder  in  the  occurrences  which  he  had 
in  his  mind.  She  was  now  natu/ally  referring  to  his 
neighbor  "Warriston,  but  then  to  think  of  her  falling 
upon  his  neck  and  kissing  him  under  a  moonlit 
heaven  !  "  And  do  you  desire,  Dinah,  to  keep  secret 
from  me  the  name  of  this  being  whom  you  thus  met  ? " 
asked  he,  still  with  an  indefinite  feeling. 

She  was  aware  of  his  knowledge  of  her  relations 
with  Rudolph,  and  as  she  gazed  in  his  face,  whilst  he 
indulged  in  these  reflections,  a  faint  brightening  was 
perceptible  upon  her  countenance,  which  might  have 
indicated  that  there  had  been  some  slight  apprehensions 
of  which  she  was  now  relieved.  "  Of  whom  were  you 
thinking  just  now,  so — so  bitterly  ?  "  said  she,  quickly. 

"  I  thought  you  were  too  sensible  a  girl,  Dinah,  to 
meet  such  a  character  as  my  eccentric  neighbor,  by 
moonlight  in  such  a  way  !  " 

"  Why,  does  he  not  love  me,  sir ;  and  would  he  not 
protect  me  ?  "  In  spite  of  her  efforts,  there  was  a  cer 
tain  dreariness  and  increasing  agitation  appearing  inJ 


198  DINAH. 

her  manner.  The  young  man  was  about  to  proceed, 
when  he  observed  that  she  had  burst  into  tears.  This 
was  the  first  time  since  he  had  commenced  to  take 
notice  of  her  character,  that  she  had  betrayed  any  evi 
dence  of  weakness  of  feeling,  or  at  least  of  any  ina 
bility  to  master  her  emotions  when  she  chose.  She 
repressed  her  tears,  however,  almost  as  quickly  as  they 
had  burst  forth. 

"  But,  Dinah,"  continued  he,  "  I  will  state  to  you 
frankly,  the  reason  which  has  impelled  me  to  be  thus 
inquisitive.  I  thought  I  heard  a  voice,  Dinah,  on  the 
night  of  your  meeting  with  our  friend  at  the  lake, 
which  seemed  different  from  his,  different  from  the 
possible  human  voice,  I  was  going  to  say,  for  it  was 
a  voice  I  had  heard  before,  but  that  of  the  unreal 
creature  of  a  dream."  He  stopped,  for  the  girl  imme 
diately  looked  at  him  in  curiosity,  and  then  corrobo 
rated  in  a  low,  respectful  way,  the  reasoning  which  had 
before  passed  in  his  mind,  and  which  brought  up  to 
him  the  absurdity  of  holding  her  responsible  to  account 
for  the  vagaries  of  his  brain.  "  But,  Dinah,"  continued 
he,  disinclined  for  this  reason  to  recount  his  dream, 
though  there  was  still  a  natural  or  artfully  assumed 
look  of  inquiry  upon  her  face,  "  I  would  not  have 
thought  to  question  you  from  this  shadowy  fact 
alone,  had  I  not  heard  that  voice  in  my  waking  hours, 
on  other  and  apparently  inexplicable  occasions. 
Pshaw  !  it  was  no  less  than  last  night,  amid  the  thun 
der  and  rain  which  followed  our  interview,  that  I  took 
refuge  in  the  old  church,  from  the  storm.  While  there, 
I  heard  that  voice  again,  and  in  unmistakable  clear 
ness  ;  nay,  even  saw  the  being  who  uttered  it,  stand 
ing  over  a  grave  in  the  churchyard,  with  his  face  up- 


DINAH.  199 

raised  to  heaven,  and  he,  I  am  sure,  was  wholly  unlike 
our  neighbor,  Rudolph.  You  may  rest  assured,  Dinah, 
if  he  had  not  disappeared  with  as  much  successful  melo- 
draine  as  he  stood  fooling  my  senses,  I  might  have 
then  been  able  to  satisfy  my  curiosity,  and  saved  this 
discovery  of  its  inquisitiveness  to  you.  "What  is  this  ? 
Who  is  it  ?  Am  I  the  dupe  of  my  own  fancy  ?  "  con 
tinued  he,  in  a  mixture  of  soliloquy  and  inquiry. 
"  Have  I  not  a  right  to  ask  you  if — if — "  He  looked 
steadily  at  the  girl,  while  he  stopped,  ridiculing  him 
self.  A  mingled  look  of  astonishment  and  confusion 
was  visible  upon  her  face,  as  he  proceeded  to  relate  the 
particulars  of  his  adventure  at  the  church.  Her  aston 
ishment  may  have  been  natural,  for  her  confusion 
seemed  a  part  of  it,  and  the  look  of  appeal  which  soon 
followed  it,  the  overwhelming  beseeching  look  of 
tender  desire  that  he  should  have  confidence  in  her, 
caused  him  to  conclude  at  once  that  she  at  least  knew 
nothing  of  this  latter  occurrence,  and  was  also  justly 
dissuading  him  from  farther  inquiry  into  her  actions  of 
the  night  on  the  lake,  as  a  matter  of  honor  at  least  to 
Warriston. — ("  It  is  so.  In  this  look  and  in  those  tears 
which  she  but  just  now  shed,  she  gently  denies  me  her 
confidence,  and  rightly  too.  In  my  ridiculous  inquisi 
tiveness,  and  with  my  absurd  fancies,  I  have  been  led 
to  ask  her  to  betray  a  delicate  secret,  to  which  I  have 
not  the  slightest  right.") 

"  I  well  know  that  you  have  the  right  to  question 
me  about  being  on  the  lake,"  said  she,  "  but  when  I 
first  ask  you  to — to — " 

"  Say  no  more,  Dinah.  I  will  not  ask  you  to  reveal 
any  thing  to  me  which  I  have  not  a  right  to  demand, 
Dinah.  I  feel  that  you  will  always  respect  the  rights 


200  DINAH. 

of  those  whom  it  is  your  duty  to  serve,  in  your  conduct, 
and  that  you  will  not  conceal  from  them  any  thing 
which  they  should  stand  cognizant  of." 

At  these  words,  the  girl  was  violently  agitated,  as 
if  from  an  internal  reproach ;  but  she  concealed  her  - 
emotion  from  him,  "by  pulling  up  the  work  with  which 
she  was  engaged,  and  plying  her  needle  with  affected 
attention.  He  soon  left  her  with  a  kind,  gentle  smile, 
and  pursued  in  solitude  his  own  reflections,  which  were 
however,  at  best,  but  unsatisfactory. 


CHAPTER    XXYIII. 

MATHEMATICS.  —  EVANGELICAL     6ATYH  S. 

NAT  BONNET  commenced  to  review  his  mathematics. 
He  did  not  carry  off  the  prize  in  this  estimable  branch 
of  education  in  his  academic  days,  but  on  the  contrary, 
had  been  quite  remarkable  for  the  difficulty  with  which 
he  got  across  the  Pons  Asinorum,  involving  a  fight 
with  his  tutor,  and  tears  on  the  part  of  his  aged  par 
ents.  In  fact,  he  philosophically  proposed  to'  plunge 
into  this  study  once  more,  with  the  hope  that  the  dis 
tracting  emotions  of  his  bosom  would  be  temporarily 
overwhelmed,  and  perhaps  ultimately  annihilated  by 
the  continuous  feeling  of  disgust  which  it  would  unfail 
ingly  produce.  On  beholding  the  ancient  and  dog 
eared  Euclid  before  him  once  more,  he  remembered 
with  agitation  the  fervent  wishes  which  he  was  accus 
tomed  to  breathe  in  his  youth,  that  its  venerable  author 
might  appear  once  more  upon  earth,  to  afford  him  an 


DINAH.  201 

opportunity  of  taking  vengeance  on  his  person. 
Great  was  his  astonishment  to  find  that  by  the  lapse 
of  years  his  antipathy  to  a  contemplation  of  those  great 
and  fundamental  truths  had  been  converted  into  a 
.delightful  appreciation  thereof.  He  laid  it  to  the  fact 
that,  amid  the  necessities  of  his  profession,  his  intellect 
thus  craved  at  times  the  food  of  truth.  "What  interest 
there  was  to  him  now  in  the  idea  of  a  straight  line — a 
thing  which  might  be  possessed  of  any  amount  of 
length,  but  was  totally  deprived  of  the  other  dimen 
sions.  "What  a  singular  thing  it  was — surpassed  only 
in  its  singularity  by  the  severe  idea  of  a  point  which 
was  simply  nothing  at  all  occupying  a  position,  re 
minding  him  forcibly  of  the  statesmen  of  his  country. 
He  shut  his  book,  and  left  his  office  to  take  a  walk  in 
the  gloaming. 

"  The  idea  of  the  human  intellect  bending  from  this 
dignified  study  to  become  the  servile  slave  of  the 
emotions  which  the  female  character  excites.  Ha ! 
awful  muse,  let  my  mind  be  ever  wrapt  in  these  chas 
tening  thoughts. — By  heaven !  it  is  intolerable.  She 
hardly  spoke  to  me  at  the  picnic.  How  can  I  excite 
her  sympathies  ?  I  might  go  and  hire  a  horse,  and  run 
his  head  against  a  tree  within  sight  of  her  mansion,  and 
fall  off  insensible.  I  should  be  taken  up  stairs  into  the 
front  chamber  by  four  farm-hands,  and  by  my  bedside 
she  would  listen  to  delirious  murmurings  of  my  inco 
herent  passion,  mingled  with  feeble  meanings,  say  in 
reference  to  the  pains  in  my  legs,  and  my  desire  to  pay 
for  my  lodgings  while  there.  And  then  as  I  conva 
lesced,  oh,  rapturous  thought,  she  would  sit  by  my  bed 
side,  and  minister  to  me  with  her  angel  hand,  gruel 
arid  buttered  toast.  My  happiness  would  be  so  much 
9* 


202  DINAH. 

the  more  complete  from  the  fact  I  am  fond  of  the  lat 
ter.  At  last  with  the  vigils  of  sympathetic  pity,  she 
would  become  debilitated  and  unwell,  and  if  until  this 
moment  her  being  was  not  swimming  in  the  great  sea 
of  love,  she  would  unfailingly  commence  to  strike  out 
here.  The  minute  a  woman  suffers  for  a  man,  she 
must  love  him, — is  an  axiom  in  the  mathematics  of  the 
heart !  "  "While  indulging  in  this  ecstatic  romance,  as 
he  turned  a  corner  into  a  leafy  avenue,  he  stumbled 
against  another  human  being,  who,  like  himself,  was 
buried  in  reflections.  Nat's  gaze  was  astronomically 
turned,  and  Rudolph  was  engaged  in  the  geological 
occupation  of  perusing  the  stones  of  the  pavement. 
They  came  together  with  such  a  rude  force  that  it  caused 
their  heads  to  resound  with  a  hollow  sound.  "  I  say," 
said  Nat,  "  go  back  and  do  that  over  again,  you 
know." 

"  Oh,  well !  it  is  an  accident ;  which  way  are  you 
going  ?  "  said  the  other  young  man,  sullenly. 

"  I  ?  Oh,  I  am  just  out  for  a  little  walk  of  ten  or 
twelve  miles  after  tea.  I've  been  sitting,  and  I  want  to 
stretch  my  legs  to  that  extent." 

"  If  you  have  no  objections,  I  will  go  with  you  a 
little  way.  You  were  not  a  witness  of  the  occurrence 
which  took  place  between  myself  and  the  individual 
who  resides  at  Pompney  Place,  and  considers  himself 
the  Pluto  of  this  hell  about  here.  The  coward  struck 
me,  and  then  refused  to  give  me  satisfaction.  Cu-rse 
him !  I  hate  him,  and  the  very  air  he  breathes,  and 
his  family  too,  for  that  matter,  and  I  don't  care  who 
knows  it.  I'll  have  my  revenge.  I  detest  the  sottish 
mummer  and — curse  him.  I — I  hate  him,"  roared  the 
furious  young  man.  His  manner  was  perhaps  disa- 


DINAH.  203 

greeable,   but  the  fine  flow  of  his  ideas   was   quite 
noticeable. 

"  I  don't.  On  the  contrary  I  like  him.  To  be  sure 
I  am  like  you,  I  don't  want  to,  but  I've  got  to,"  said 
Nat,  with  a  resigned  air.  ("  In  the  curious  arrange 
ments  of  affinity,  I  suppose  it  is  because  Laura  loves 
him.") 

"  I  detest  him.  He  is  a  knave  !  "  said  the  other, 
pursuing  his  tender  train  of  reflections. 

"  I  can't  go  as  far  as  that  with  you,  and  it  strikes 
me,  on  the  whole,  that  your  prejudices  are  of  the  most 
damnable  order.  It  is  better  to  confine  yourself  simply 
to  calling  him  a  fool.  (When  my  agitation  becomes 
excessive,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  go  that  far  myself.)  Or, 
remembering  that  Pompney  Place  is  his  residence,  you 
may  proceed  at  opportune  moments,  to  decry  its 
beauties  or — " 

"  Oh  pshaw  !  good-night.  I'm  going.  Here  comes 
that  old  proser  Fumes.  Three-quarters  of  his  conver 
sation  with  me  are  expended  in  rebuking  me  for  that 
terrible  sin — of  hating  his  friend  Charles  as  he  calls 
him.  I  can't  endure  him.  My  overseer  wants  to  go  to 
New  York,  and  I  think  I  will  go  with  him,  and  get  out 
of  this  infernal  region  for  a  while." 

"  Oh,  please  see  that  he  gets  into  no  danger,  will 
you  ?  Wrap  him  up  well  at  night,  and  prevent  his 
taking  cold.  Take  care  of  that  beloved  member  of 
society,"  said  Nat,  in  sudden  enthusiasm,  "  and  see 
that  he  doesn't  eat  too  much,  for  my  sake." 

"Eh,  what  for?" 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,  exactly.  D'ye  see,  I've  often 
thought  it  might  afford  me  pleasure  to  put  such  a  man 
as  that  out  of  existence  myself,  you  know." 


204:  DINAH. 

The  young  man  left,  Nat  finally  proposing  as  the 
requisite  relief  to  his  feelings,  that  lie  should  exhibit 
tobacco  juice,  through  the  medium  of  the  eye,  to  the 
constitution  of  any  canine  animal  belonging  to  the  dis 
turber  of  his  repose.  Nat  soon  joined  the  learned  Doc 
tor,  and  turning  back,  accompanied  him  towards  the 
village.  Their  conversation  was  of  a  much  more  agree 
able  character,  although  the  Doctor  introduced,  and 
persistently  stuck  to  the  harmony  of  Charles's  and 
Laura's  characters,  as  the  subject  of  his  remarks. 
However,  as  Nat,  with  much  energy,  immediately  re 
vived  his  mathematical  enthusiasm  in  order  to  over 
whelm  the  emotions  which  were  thus  stirred  again  in 
his  bosom,  some  slight  confusion  of  thought  was  caused 
at  first,  but  finally  a  compromise  was  made  in  the  union 
of  the  two  subjects  which  was  quite  successful,  and  enter- 
tamed  them  both  for  a  considerable  length  of  time. 
For  instance,  the  Doctor  would  say,  Nat  having  re 
ferred  to  some  property  of  numbers,  "  And  the  same 
wonderful  principle  may  also  be  applied  with  unfailing 
success  to  the  problems  of  social  existence.  Thus  in  the 
union  of  Charles  and  Laura,  you  will  see  how  immedi 
ately  their  power  in  society  and  life  will  be  increased 
by  it  manifold." 

"  Yes,  I  see,"  Nat  would  say,  appreciatively.  "  You 
take  Laura  as  number  one,  for  instance,  and  placing 
Charles  as  a  cipher  along  side  of  her,  they  immediately 
become  ten  together.  Yes,  I  see." 

"  Well,  perhaps  it  is  too  far  to  carry  the  application 
to  particulars,"  replies  the  Doctor,  slowly.  "  However, 
in  the  main,  I  observe  you  have  my  idea." 

Continuing,  in  this  manner,  a  harmonious  inter 
change  of  ideas,  and  enjoying  the  refreshing  night-air, 


DINAH.  205 

they  took  tlie  wide  avenues  at  hazard.  In  a  schoolhouse 
upon  one  of  these,  a  public  meeting  was  being  held, 
and  from  its  interior  a  concert  of  groans  and  grunts 
might  be  heard  emanating  at  stated  intervals.  Hearing 
shrill  ejaculations  of  pain  as  if  from  a  female  in  torture, 
Nat  proposed  that  they  should  enter,  and  the  Doctor, 
although  demurring  at  first  from  a  decided  yet  delicate 
feeling  of  intrusion,  finally  overcame  his  scruples,  and 
accompanied  him  to  a  back  seat.  Several  people  were 
upon  their  knees  between  the  benches,  in  different  parts 
of  the  room,  uttering  indistinct  cries,  and  one  large 
man  was  beating  violently  with  his  clenched  fist  the 
seat  in  front  of  which  he  kneeled.  Others  were  seated, 
and  while  gazing  intently  at  the  desk  in  front  of  them, 
relieved  now  and  then  the  feelings  which  the  scene  in 
spired,  by  uttering  short  suppressed  yelps,  or  by  con 
vulsively  tossing  their  arms  in  the  air.  Near  the  desk 
was  a  female,  who  had  evidently  experienced  religion, 
sitting  on  a  three-legged  stool,  like  the  Delphian  oracle, 
with  her  hair  standing  on  end,  her  eyes  sticking  out, 
sparkling  shines  of  perspiration  on  her  countenance, 
and  apparent  shivers  running  over  her  whole  body; 
while  a  crowd  of  priestly  men,  among  them  the  over 
seer  Obadiah  Baylon,  conspicuous  from  his  top-knot, 
were  busy  about  her  in  calling  attention  to  the  in 
spired  articulations  which  she  was  uttering  in  loud 
howls  and  cries.  The  Doctor  was  inclined  to  flee 
abruptly  from  the  place,  but  Nat  restrained  him.  Near 
them  on  a  back  seat  in  the  other  aisle,  Nat  saw  the 
white  collar  of  the  girl  Dinah,  and  the  long  hair  of  her 
father,  almost  as  white,  and  further  ahead  he  observed 
his  friend  the  apothecary,  evidently  in  a  great  state  of 
internal  excitement.  He  was  just  then  much  occupied 


206  DINAH. 

in  inventing  a  new  method  of  expressing  liis  religious 
fervor,  as  lie  was  aweary  of  his  efforts  with  language, 
and  had  been  some  time  revolving  the  efficacy  of  walk 
ing  out  into  the  middle  of  the  floor  and  falling  head 
long  into  the  pit  of  some  one's  stomach,  proposing,  in 
order  to  give  prominence  to  the  affair,  to  select  the 
organ  of  Obadiah  Baylon  for  that  purpose.  The  in 
spired  female,  having  at  length  exhausted  herself,  the 
men  ejected  her  from  the  railings  with  considerable 
force,  and  a  worthy  brother,  Tarbox  by  name,  took  the 
stand.  Rolling  his  eyes  around  the  room,  he  suddenly 
caught  sight  of  the  uneasy  Doctor  in  the  retired  seat. 
"  Avaunt,  Beelzebub  !  "  said  he,  "  There  he  sits— 
there  sitteth  the  false  prophet  of  Satan,"  continued 
he,  pointing  a  very  dirty  finger  at  the  object  of  his 
objurgation.  Here  all  the  people  looked  around,  and 
the  Doctor  and  his  friend  were  immediately  placed  in 
an  unenviable  state  of  notoriety. 

"  I  say,  Doctor,  he  is  alluding  to  you,"  whispered 
Nat. 

"  There  sits  the  false  prophet  of  Satan,"  continued 
the  brother,  "  who  donneth  the  garb  of  celestial  origin, 
and  belloweth  forth  lies  to  the  Episcopalian  Pharisees, 
for  the  blessed  truth  in  his  pinnacled  temple." 

"  Nat,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  as  this  house  is  not  con 
secrated,  it  would  not  take  much  to  induce  me  to  chas 
tise  this  man  immediately,  Nathaniel." 

"  "Why  does  he  defile  us  with  his  gloves,"  continued 
the  inquiring  Tarbox  ;  "  why  does  he  defile  us  with  his 
broadcloth,  and  his  tuckers,  and  pinafores,  head-orna 
ments,  rings — " 

It  is  impossible  to  state  in  what  manner,  under  the 
growing  excitement  of  the  moment,  the  object  of  this 


DINAH.  207 

harangue  would  have  answered  the  various  inquiries 
put  therein,  had  they  not  been  brought  abruptly  to  an 
unfinished  conclusion  by  a  worthy  brother,  who,  hav 
ing  an  eye  to  the  morality  of  the  congregation,  shrieked 
out  excitedly  at  this  point,  "  Brother  Tarbox,  your  wife 
has  gone  home,  and  brother  Williams  has  gone  off 
with  her !  "  The  unhappy  Tarbox  bolted  frantically  for 
the  door  at  this  announcement,  and  his  place  was  im 
mediately  taken  by  another  and  apparently  modest 
brother,  who  commenced  his  address  by  complacently 
stating  that  he  was  "  but  an  humble  laborer  in  this 
vineyard." 

Unfortunately  he  had  an  enemy  in  a  back  seat, 
who,  instigated  by  the  promptings  of  his  hatred,  imme 
diately  cried  out  "  Louder." 

"  My  brethren,"  reiterated  the  brother,  raising  his 
voice,  "  I  am  an  humble  laborer  in  this  vineyard, 
but—" 

"  A  little  louder,  if  you  please,  brother,"  said  the 
malignant  creature  in  the  back  seat. 

The  unfortunate  speaker  immediately  tried  to  com 
ply  with  the  suggestion,  and  stated  again,  in  deafening 
tones,  that  he  was  but  an  humble  laborer. 

"  Will  our  brother  speak  a  little  louder  ?  "  once 
more  asked  the  relentless  foe. 

"  My  brethren,  I  say  I  am  but  an  humble  laborer 
in  this  vineyard,"  yelled  ihe  infuriated  brother.  "  Do 
you  hear  that,  you  d — ned  scoundrel  ? " 

Nathaniel  and  the  Doctor  left  the  house  in  the 
midst  of  the  confusion  which  followed,  and  the  latter, 
falling  down  the  front  steps  in  the  darkness,  felt  in 
clined  to  think  the  abraded  condition  of  his  shins  was 
especially  sent  as  a  punishment  to  him  for  intruding  his 
presence  upon  this  gathering. 


208  DINAH. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

A   CHANGE   IN   GLUCKINBON. THE    FATIIE1J   AA'D   DAUGHTEE 

TOGETHER. 

IT  was  one  of  those  still  summer  afternoons  BO  com 
mon  in  our  country,  at  the  pleasant  hour  when  the 
overhanging  foliage  is  no  longer  sought  as  a  shelter 
from  the  heat,  but  the  shadows  commence  to  be  long 
and  wide  from  the  descending  sun,  and  the  lustre  of 
the  heavens  is  softened  to  the  eye,  that  Charles's  aunt 
and  mother  took  a  drive  in  the  phaeton. 

"  Really,  I  do  not  know  what  is  the  matter  with 
James,"  said  the  former,  as  they  stood  on  the  steps  of 
the  terrace  viewing  the  pleasant  scene,  while  William 
was  making  a  flourishing  circuit  on  the  walk  with  the 
ponies.  "  When  I  requested  him  just  now  to  tell 
"William  to  put  in  the  ponies,  he  scowled  frightfully  at 
me,  and  in  concealed  mutters,  which  seemed  to  be  a 
violent  defiance  of  me,  I  thought  I  heard  him  say 
something  about  murder,  would  you  believe  it?  At 
one  time,  it  seemed  as  if  I  overheard  him  express  a  de 
sire  to  assassinate  me  with  a  razor.  I  was  so  frightened, 
I  ran  away  from  him.  And  William  tells  me,  that  when 
he  came  to  the  stable  just  afterwards,  he  continued  his 
singular  conduct,  and  proposed  to  cut  his  throat  if  he 
didn't  behave  himself,  and  the  throats  of  all  the  horses. 
But  he  says  when  he  dared  him  to  personal  combat  for 
it,  he  ran  out  of  the  stable.  The  maids  tell  me  too,  that 
for  the  past  few  days  he  goes  muttering  about  the  house, 
breaking  out  every  now  and  then  into  a  swaggering 
blustering,  and  attempting  to  domineer  over  them  with 


DINAH.  209 

vaporings  and  threats  of  violence.  Dear  me,  I  don't 
know  what  is  the  matter  with  him.  I  fear  his  mind  is 
affected.  Indeed,  I  do.  He  is  threatening  every  body 
in  the  house.  If  it  were  only  occasionally,  I  should 
consider  it  the  result  of  intoxication.  Dear  me,  I  wish 
I  hadn't  permitted  Dinah  and  her  father  to  go  to  town 
this  afternoon.  However,  they  were  so  indifferent 
ahout  going,  there  was  no  pleasure  in  refusing  them. 
Talking  about  pleasure,  William,  you  must  certainly 
prevent  that  strange  cat,  in  some  way,  from  prowling 
about  our  residence.  I  can't  endure  it.  He  makes 
most  horrible  noises,  and  besides  that,  he  disturbs  the 
equanimity  of  the  cats  at  home.  My  little  pet  came  in 
the  other  day  with  her  face  all  scratched  up  by  this 
monster.  You  must  shoo  him  away." 

"  Yes,  marm,"  said  William. 

"  Mrs.  Norcomb  insisted  yesterday  on  giving  a  pres 
ent  of  money  to  Dinah,"- proceeded  the  spinster,  con 
tinuing  to  retail  the  events  of  the  household  to  her  sis 
ter-in-law  as  they  drove  along,  "  She  said  it  was  in  honor 
of  her  birthday,  could  you  believe  it,  which  occurred 
last  May,  would  you  think  ?  Now,  it  is  usual  to  re 
ceive  presents  on  one's  birthday,  isn't  it  ?  And  I  think 
if  any  thing  was  done,  Mrs.  Norcomb  ought  to  have 
waited  until  next  May,  and  then  received  a  small  sum 
from  Dinah.  But  alas  !  "  continued  she,  with  a  myste 
rious  manner,  "  who  knows  what  terrible  overpower 
ing  information  may  be  divulged  to  her  ere  that  day 
arrives,  and  perhaps  on  that  anniversary  she  may  re 
call  to  memory,  with  regret,  the  day  she  was  born  ! 
No !  No  !  (with  heroi^  firmness,  in  a  low,  indistinct 
manner,)  I  will  not  divulge  it  to  her,  and  I  am  sure  he 
wo'nt." 


210  DINAH. 

"  "What  do  you  refer  to,  Adeline  ?  "  said  her  sister- 
in-law,  who  was  engaged  in  viewing  the  scenery.  "  I 
didn't  quite  understand  you  ?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing,  nothing,"  replied  the  maiden  aunt, 
gloomily.  "  But  a  passing  thought.  Cheer  me  up, 
Delia.  My  weak  unhappy  bosom,"  continued  she, 
taking  hold  of  her  stays,  "  needs  support. — The  girl 
came  and  asked  my  permission  to  take  the  money. 
As  I  knew  she  would,  whether  I  permitted  her  or  not, 
I  allowed  her.  The  amount  rendered  her  quite  de 
lirious  for  the  moment.  Her  eyes  sparkled,  and  she 
ran  off  to  her  father." 

"  The  poverty  in  which  she  has  lived  made  it  ap 
pear  large  to  her." 

"  Yes,  indeed.  Money  appears,  indeed,  to  be  as 
great  a  necessity  with  the  lower  classes  as  with  us. 
When  I  was  paying  off  the  farm-hands  the  other  day, 
there  was  an  unnatural  brilliance  and  a  longing  in  her 
eyes  as  she  saw  the  money,  and  I  eaught  her  in  her 
room  soon  after,  counting  over  anxiously  some  small 
change  she  had  in  an  old  worn-out  purse.  I  fear  she 
is  bad,"  continued  the  old  maid,  whose  bosom  was 
commencing  to  rankle  against  Dinah,  as  she  suddenly 
remembered  that  the  girl  had  exhibited  merriment  at 
the  unfortunate  accident  which  befell  her  and  Mr. 
Pithkin  on  the  day  of  the  picnic.  "  Things  not  within 
her  reach,  at  least,  are  safe.  Do  you  think  I  had  better 
dismiss  her  and  her  father  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no  !  No !  Perhaps  we  may  be  doing  them 
injustice  to  suspect  them  now." 

"  The  old  man  is  quite  stupyl  and  infirm.  I  don't 
think  he  will  attempt  any  more  evil  himself.  He  has 


DINAH.  211 

turned  himself  to  religion,  and  is  fond  of  going  to 
the  chapel." 

An  inclination  to  silence  here  took  possession  of 
the  occupants  of  the  vehicle.  The  hour  of  twilight, 
and  the  place  occupied  by  the  old  church  and  its  yard, 
were  approaching.  One  or  two  of  the  more  enthusi 
astic  beetles  were  abroad,  winding  their  little  barbarous 
horns,  to  celebrate  the  event  of  the  dying  day ;  and  the 
pendant  bat  in  his  home  in  the  belfry,  commenced  to 
nutter  his  leathern  pinions  and  peep  feebly  into  the 
welkin,  as  he  felt  the  tyrannic  seal  of  light  melting 
away  from  his  sleepy  being.  Hope  loves  best  to  whis 
per  her  promises  at  the  hour  when  the"  shades  of  dark 
ness  comes  over  nature  or  the  soul,  and  the  tender 
religious  thought  stole  upon  the  minds  of  the  pensive 
women,  as  the  dusk  came  on. 

As  they  drove  down  the  cross-road,  running  through 
fragrant  fields,  and  by  the  side  of  the  churchyard,  in 
order  to  pass  home  by  the  highway,  the  chirrup  of  the 
retiring  birds  might  be  heard  in  the  trees,  the  lowing 
of  the  cows  in  the  distance  returning  from  the  pastures, 
the  bark  of  the  house-dog,  or  the  cheerful  song  of  the 
farm-boy.  A  dog  of  mixed  ancestry,  who  had  been 
sitting  on  the  road,  outside  of  the  churchyard  looking 
wistfully  in,  or  now  and  then  pricking  up  his  ears  at 
the  distant  sound  of  his  kind,  rose  from  his  sitting 
posture  and  wagged  his  tail  modestly  as  the  familial- 
vehicle  approached.  Within  the  churchyard,  at  the 
back  part,  where  the  graves  of  the  poorer  class  were 
placed,  the  ladies  observed  the  girl  Dinah  and  her 
father,  who  had  evidently  stopped  there  on  their  return 
from  the  village,  to  visit  the  grave  of  the  wife  and 
mother.  The  girl,  in  a  stooping  posture,  was  smooth- 


212  DINAH. 

ing  the  grass  growing  thereon,  while  the  old  man  was 
wiping  in  a  brisk  manner  the  dust  and  dirt  from  the 
headstone,  and  clearing  out,  in  a  flurry,  the  letters  with 
his  handkerchief. 

At  the  sound  of  the  carriage,  they  immediately 
rested,  and  recognizing  it,  bowed  respectfully  and 
came  forward  as  the  aunt  stopped  and  called  them. 
The  girl  reached  them  first,  and  with  a  smile  bade 
them  good  evening.  She  cast  a  hesitating  upraised 
glance  at  Charles's  mother,  while  she  patted  the  dog's 
head  who  had  commenced  to  gambol  about  her. 

"  You  must  not  stay  out  so  late,  Dinah,"  said  the 
aunt ;  "  you  will  be  wanted  at  home,  and  it  will  be 
dark  before  you  get  there." 

"  We-were  just  going  as  you  came  up,"  said  Dinah, 
"  indeed—" 

"  It  is  some  ways,"  said  Charles's  mother.  "  Your 
father  appears  tired.  Let  him  get  on  the  seat  with 
William,  Adeline,  and  Dinah  can  sit  with  us."  The 
girl  blushed  suddenly  at  this,  but  was  afraid  to  refuse. 

The  arrangements  being  made,  William  gave  a 
cabalistic  order  to  the  ponies,  who  immediately  whisked 
their  tails  in  unison,  and  off  the  vehicle  rolled  once 
more,  the  dog  barking  and  frisking  about  it  in  great  joy. 
In  this  manner  they  soon  reached  home,  nothing  hav 
ing  occurred  to  mar  the  pleasantness  of  the  return, 
except  some  little  uneasiness  on  the  part  of  the  aunt, 
which  caused  her  to  push  Dinah  into  her  sister-in-law, 
in  a  very  disagreeable  manner,  most  of  the  way. 


DINAH.  213 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

DIXAII   IN    HER   BOTVEH. 

THE  young  girl  sat  at  the  window  of  the  room  in 
the  afternoon,  carelessly  regarding  the  long  view  with 
out.  The  air  was  not  sultry,  but  the  wind  was  warm 
which  came  in  at  the  windows.  She  had  removed  her 
stockings  and  shoes,  and  her  naked  feet  rested  grace 
fully  on  the  cool  oaken  floor,  their  whiteness  contrasting 
in  a  dazzling  way  with  its  sombre  hue.  Outside,  in 
the  court  near  the  stables,  a  dog  and  pigeon,  emble 
matic  of  peace,  were  eating  from  the  same  dish,  while 
a  second  canine  individual  of  an  excessively  indolent 
temperament,  recumbent  beneath  the  spreading  elm, 
was  blinking  in  pleasant  idleness,  and  speculating  in 
soft  distraction,  upon  the  propriety  of  joining  in  the 
festivities.  The  young  girl  placed  her  hand  upon  the 
high  top  of  her  chair,  and  turned  to  lay  her  cheek  upon 
her  arm.  A  large  thick  lock  fell  around  her  neck,  and 
ended  in  perplexity  on  her  shoulder.  The  dress  which 
she  wore  was  bright  and  large  flowered,  and  notwith 
standing  its  old  grandmother  style  with  full  sleeves 
banded  to  the  wrists,  bore  an  air  of  exquisite  summer 
freshness.  "What  thoughts  passed  in  her  revery  ?  Was 
she  not  a  young  creature  full  of  human  hopes  and 
fears?  Perhaps  she  thought  of  the  relations  of  blood, 
and  her  father's  life  and  extinguished  hopes,  of  his  hap 
piness,  and  the  pious  duty  of  a  child.  Perhaps  of  the 
Southerner's  generosity.  Perhaps,  as  a  shadow  of  sor 
row  came  over  her  brow,  she  thought  of  her  mistress, 
whom  she  would  like  to  love,  or  of  the  malignance  of 


214:  DIN  An. 

the  overseer,  Baylon.  The  breeze  laden  with  perfume, 
played  with  the  frippery  of  her  stomacher,  and  now  as 
her  mind  turned  towards  another  being  beneath  the 
same  roof  with  her,  a  languor  seemed  to  have  taken 
possession  of  her  frame,  and  she  appeared  as  one  whose 
whole  system  was  agitated  with  a  feeling  entirely  novel 
to  it.  "What  indefinite  ecstasy  was  this  which  shook 
her  frame?  Her  eyelashes  drooped  involuntarily. 
Was  it  the  sacred  inauguration  of  the  first  love  of  the 
woman,  in  one  whose  girlhood  was  slowly  fading  in  the 
brighter  effulgence  of  the  coming  period  ?  A  blush 
colored  her  cheeks,  for  perhaps,  while  she  felt  this 
earthly  rapture  which  swelled  her  palpitating  heart, 
and  caused  the  tremor  of  her  being,  there  was  mingled 
with  the  woman's  glory  the  maiden's  shame,  or  per 
haps  she  felt  it  was  such  as  made  the  superior  beings 
whom  she  knew  to  be  watching  over  her  laugh  at  the 
mortality  of  her  nature. 


CHAPTEK    XXXI. 

A   MIDNIGHT   OCCUBBEXCE. 

CHARLES  retired  to  repose,  tired  with  the  long  ride 
upon  which  he  had  accompanied  Laura,  and  the  con 
versational  efforts  which  her  beauty  and  spirit  had 
excited  him  to  make  thereupon.  He  knew  not  how 
many  unconscious  hours  had  passed  in  the  depths  of 
slumber,  when  he  awoke  with  a  start,  but  it  was  still 
one  of  the  dead  hours  of  the  night.  His  sleep  had 


DINAH.  215 

refreshed  him,  and  he  commenced  to  recall  the  vivid 
scene  of  the  wild  and  laughing  girl,  the  spirited  horses 
with  wide-spread  nostrils,  and  the  varied  scenery.  Now 
the  long-fenced  field  with  the  farm-house  near  by,  now 
a  rustic  bridge  crossing  a  shaded  rivulet,  shut  out  from 
the  setting  sun  by  a  dark  mountain,  from  amidst  the 
forested  coverts  of  which  the  hoarse-roaring  water 
dashed  over  its  rocky  channel ;  and  now  a  narrow, 
gloomy  road,  running  through  a  sombre  grove  of  lofty 
trees.  He  thought  over  again  of  the  sparkling  manner 
thrown  out  against  those  tranquil  scenes  as  they  rushed 
along,  and  turned  on  his  side  to  laugh  once  more,  in 
the  irresistible  way  in  which  poppied  people  do,  at 
some  lively  remark  uttered  by  the  fair  equestrian  he 
had  accompanied.  It  seemed  to  awake  a  confused  echo 
in  the  broad  halls.  "  I  must  not  laugh  so  loud  the 
next  time.  If  I  arouse  the  house,  I  shall  have  to  get 
up  and  retail  the  theme  of  my  merriment  to  them 
before  they  are  satisfied,  wrhich  evidently  wouldn't  do 
— which  evidently  wouldn't  do,"  soliloquized  he,  throw 
ing  his  legs  along  the  bed  carelessly,  "  considering  my 
present  pleasant  position."  The  night  air  was  cool, 
and  he  buried  his  head  in  the  pillow,  and  shut  out 
from  his  othei'  ear  with  the  counterpane,  the  sound  of 
the  silence.  Towards  sleep  again  in  a  dreamy  way,  he 
thought  he  heard  a  curious  disturbance  in  the  interior 
of  the  feathers,  producing  a  deadened  noise  to  his  ap 
plied  ear,  as  though  there  was  a  charmed  spot  a  long 
way  distant  in  the  downy  depths,  where  a  few  tiny 
spiritual  beings  were  engaged  in  walking  about,  and 
conversing  irregularly.  He  raised  his  head  when 
the  imagined  noise  struck  in  a  full  reality  upon  his 
ear,  coming  through  the  opened  windows  of  his  bed- 


216  DINAH. 

chamber,  and  seemingly  from  those  of  apartments 
below.  He  sat  up  erect  in  the  bed  ;  for  again,  in  this 
dead  hour  of  the  night,  that  unnatural  voice  which  he 
had  heard  in  his  dream,  in  the  mist,  and  in  the  grave 
yard,  once  more  concerned  him.  It  was  not  now  the 
meek  idiotic  inquiry,  weakly  fashioned  by  the  thick 
ened  tongue  of  a  babbling  sot,  nor  a  simple  reproach, 
nor  a  whoop,  but  the  violent  irrepressible  malediction 
of  some  thwarted  being,  dangerous  in  his  anger.  The 
sound  of  a  short  scuffle  was  borne  to  the  young  man's 
ear,  quickly  followed  by  a  half-suppressed  exclamation 
of  a  second  being  in  entreaty.^ 

He  had  jumped  upon  the  floor,  and  stood  paralyzed 
by  the  fearful  sounds,  for  fearful  they  seemed  to  him, 
when  a  sharp  cry  of  terror  or  anguish  went  out  into  the 
air,  almost  simultaneously  with  the  dull  explosion  of 
a  fire-arm.  The  humanity  of  this  last  sound,  (not  to 
speak  satirically,)  brought  him  to  his  senses,  and  dis 
sipated  his  fear  of  the  supernatural,  and  half-attired,  he 
rushed  down  stairs  into  the  hall  below.  There  he 
observed  Col.  Norcomb  advancing  from  the  other  end 
with  considerable  rapidity  and  with  a  light  in  his 
hand,  and  near  the  library  door,  the  senseless  form 
of  the  unhappy  Gluckinson'with  a  gun  lying  by  his 
side.  Through  the  opened  door,  it  was  observable 
that  the  library  was  dimly  illuminated,  and  as  he 
reached  it,  he  saw  standing  therein  in  front  of  him,  in 
the  attitude  as  it  first  struck  him,  of  a  witch  suddenly 
discovered  in  her  nocturnal  work  of  wickedness,  and 
then  of  a  criminal  convicted  in  the  commission  of  the 
crime,  the  girl  Dinah.  The  oaken  cabinet,  containing 
the  documents  of  the  estate  and  other  articles  of  value, 
was  wide  open.  Some  of  the  papers  lay  strewn  upon 


DINAH.  217 

the  carpet  amidst  the  shivered  fragments  of  the  lamp's 
globe,  the  light,  still  burning,  having  been  apparently 
tipped  from  its  position  on  the  centre  table  and  re 
placed  by  some  quick  hand.  Relieving  his  mind  at 
once  of  doubts,  with  regard  to  the  condition  of  the 
faithful  domestic,  Gluckinson,  whom  he  happily  dis 
covered  was  unharmed,  and  already  beginning  to  re 
vive  from  a  fainted  state,  the  true  nature  of  the  mid 
night  occurrence,  and  of  the  character  of  the  girl  was 
presented  to  him  in  these  unmistakable  indications  of 
an  attempt  at  robbery.  They  had  been  foolishly  har 
boring  in  their  house  an  unscrupulous  girl,  the  daugh 
ter  of  a  broken-down  criminal,  perhaps  the  young 
accomplice  of  others,  and  cunning  enough  to  deceive 
them,  until  her  evil  inclinations  and  plans  were  now 
exposed  in  this  fortunate  detection. 

This  neighborhood,  like  most  other  romantic  coun 
try  places,  had  its  local  superstitions,  to  which  the 
vivacious  minds  of  the  more  imaginative  referred 
every  event  which  was  uncommon  enough  to  be  with 
out  the  ordinary  routine  of  their  daily  lives,  and  to  the 
sustainment  of  which,  also,  the  more  staid  of  the  inhab 
itants,  perhaps,  had  lent  the  activity  of  their  local 
pride.  Thus  the  belief  in  the  visitations  of  the  old 
pioneer,  had  become  a  sensitive  fixture  in  the  neighbor 
hood.  He  himself  had  fallen  into  the  thoughtless 
habit  and  referred,  indefinitely  to  be  sure,  those  events 
which  had  lately  passed  within  his  ken,  and  which  had 
borne  a  slight  appearance  of  mystery,  to  a  supernatural 
agency ;  a  mystery  he  now  saw  could  easily  be  dissi 
pated  without  calling  in  the  aid  of  the  restless  walkings 
of  the  old  pioneer,  or  of  any  other  unearthly  power. 
The  girl,  probably,  had  some  idle  dissipated  lover  from 
10 


218  DINAH. 

among  the  enemies  of  society,  who  had  been  secreted 
in  the  neighborhood  for  some  time,  and  whom  she  had 
finally  conjoined  as  an  accomplice  in  this  predatory 
attempt  upon  the  mansion.  It  was  he  and  not  Ru 
dolph,  whom  she  met  at  night  in  the  mist.  It  was  he 
without  doubt,  who,  seeking  in  his  nightly  tramp  shel 
ter  in  the  church,  and  surprised  there,  may  have  played 
for  a  prudent  or  a  humorous  purpose,  an  easy  prank 
with  the  superstitious  fancies  of  the  neighborhood. 
Yet,  in  the  midst  of  these  reflections,  Charles  remem 
bered  that  the  face  which  he  saw  in  that  solemn  place, 
and  the  hour  of  thunder,  bore  almost  a  ghastly  ex 
pression  of  sorrow  and  misery,  and  that  there  was  a 
wildness  of  despair  in  those  motions,  which  seemed 
real.  Above  all,  that  voice.  It  was  indissolubly 
superplaced  in  his  memory's  stores,  upon  one  which 
was  no  reality  but  the  furniture  of  a  weird  dream. 
"Why  such  a  connection  ?  And  further,  this  girl  pos 
sessed  a  bright,  active  intelligence.  She  well  knew  the 
power  which  she  possessed  over  the  young  man  War- 
riston.  and  that  the  road  to  comfort  was  much  easier 
through  his  possessions,  than  through  robbery.  But 
here  was  the  fact  that  she  had  been  caught  in  the  fla 
grant  act.  That  was  certain.  His  hurried  reflections 
were  unsatisfactory,  yet  the  theory  which  they  evolved, 
rested  in  his  mind  as  not  only  possible,  but  the  most 
probable. 

"  Sit  down  in  the  chair,"  said  he  to  her,  with  some 
sternness.  The  whole  household  had  been  aroused 
with  one  on  two  exceptions ;  the  father  of  the  girl 
among  the  number,  who  was  afterwards  discovered 
really  and  soundly  reposing  his  aged  limbs,  tired  with 
the  labors  of  the  day.  The  lights  which  the  different 


DINAH.  219 

members  thereof  had  brought  with  them,  lit  up  the 
library  brightly,  and  the  girl's  face  appeared  as  pale 
as  marble.  "  There  is  nothing  gone,"  muttered  she,  in 
a  low  voice,  as  if  she  were  already  trying  to  defend 
herself.  A  quick  examination  was  made,  and  nothing 
could  be  discovered  by  those  acquainted  with  the  con 
tents  of  the  scrutoire  to  be  missing.  The  depository 
of  money  in  daily  use  was  untouched.  Only  the  pa 
pers,  in  fact,  appeared  to  have  been  disturbed,  and 
particularly  those  which  bore  reference  to  the  estate. 
The  folded  patent  of  the  original  grant  from  King 
George  to  the  old  pioneer  of  the  lands  of  the  neighbor 
hood,  was  lying  in  broken  fragments  upon  the  floor, 
torn  at  the  aged  crease  across  its  middle,  and  near  by 
it  the  deed  of  Colonel  Pompney,  by  which  these  lands 
had  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  his  race,  also  disordered 
and  torn,  but  still  legible.  A  thrill  ran  through  his 
blood,  as  the  young  man  noticed  this  singular  dis 
turbance  of  these  documents  thus  morally  related,  and 
he  turned  to  glance,  in  sudden  and  absorbed  interest,  at 
the  countenance  of  this  young  girl  who  had  thus  once 
more  become  connected  with  the  old  pioneer  and  the 
traditions  of  the  past.  He  was  about  to  obey  the  irre 
sistible  desire  of  the  moment,  and  demand  from  her 
lips  an  account  of  the  occurrence,  real  or  feigned,  when 
he  observed  blood  trickling  down  her  arm.  u  What  is 
this  ? "  said  he,  in  astonishment.  She  rose  to  walk 
towards  him,  and  staggered  in  faintness.  Her  paleness 
had  increased  to  a  deadly  pallor,  and  the  peculiar  look 
which  comes  over  the  relaxed  muscles  of  the  face  so 
much  like  a  smile,  appeared  on  her  countenance.  Mrs. 
ISTorcomb,  and  one  of  the  domestics,  rushed  forward 
and  caught  her  ere  she  fell,  and  as  the  latter  sustained 


220  D  I N  A  II . 

her  in  an  agitated  manner  against  his  person,  a  •wound 
which  she  had  perhaps-  purposely  endeavored  to  con 
ceal,  was  discovered  upon  her  arm ;  not  caused  by  a 
gun-shot,  but  one  which  a  knife  or  some  sharp  instru 
ment  would  make.  The  blood  had  trickled  down  from 
her  arm  upon  her  dress  and  the  carpet,  and  she  was  now 
weak  from  its  flowT,  or  the  idea  of  it.  Her  dress,  too,  had 
evidently  been  put  on  in  great  haste,  and  it  seemed  as  if 
she  had  been  suddenly  aroused  from  her  bed,  and  that 
a  struggle  had  taken  place  in  the  book  place.  All  this 
bore  the  marks  of  an  antagonism,  on  her  part,  to  some 
one  who  had  also  been  engaged  in  the  midnight  act, 
and  yet  whose  late  presence  she  would  fain  conceal. 

She  was  now  reduced  to  such  a  condition,  although 
the  wound  was  apparently  not  dangerous,  that  humanity 
demanded,  no  matter  how  guilty  she  may  have  been, 
that  she  should  be  removed  to  her  apartment,  and 
Charles  concluded  to  forego  his  intention  of  sifting 
the  affair  by  examining  her  upon  the  spot.  All  was 
confusion  and  distraction,  and  amidst  it  she  was  allow 
ed  to  retire  to  her  room  and  remain  in  quiet  until 
morning.  After  a  while,  order  being  in  a  measure  re 
stored  in  the  excited  household,  and  an  incoherent 
statement  being  obtained  from  the  half-restored  Gluck- 
inson,  in  which  it  was  apparent  that  he  had  shot  off 
his  gun  in  the  hall  to  alarm  the  house,  and  then  fainted 
away  from  fright,  Charles  visited  his  mother's  apart 
ment,  and  the  two  in  a  prolonged  conversation  dis 
cussed  this  unusual  occurrence  with  varied  theories. 
As  a  conclusion  to  their  consideration  of  it,  and  the 
subsequent  examination  of  the  girl,  they  resolved,  even 
if  it  were  not  necessary  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty 
to  themselves  and  society,  it  would  certainly  be  bene- 


DINAH.  221 

ficial  to  the  girl  herself,  if  she  were  at  once  subjected 
to  a  judicial  examination.  At  first,  they  both  felt  a 
great  repugnance  to  such  a  course,  from  the  notoriety 
which  attached  to  such  matters,  and  from  a  real  hu 
mane  unwillingness  to  appear  against  the  girl.  The 
theory  of  robbery  on  the  part  of  the  girl,  was  stronger 
in  the  mind  of  the  mother  than  that  of  Charles, 
although  it  was  even  to  her  a  source  of  perplexed  rea 
soning,  why  she  should  have  undertaken  it,  when  she 
had  appeared  to  have  been  conscious  of  a  power  with 
in  herself  to  accomplish  her  ends  in  a  higher,  more 
legitimate,  though  perhaps,  still  unscrupulous  manner. 
As  to  Charles  himself,  in  his  confusion  the  girl's  state 
ment,  which  tended  to  exculpate  herself,  bore  a  general 
air  of  truthfulness  to  him  at  first ;  and  for  the  time,  it 
made  him  sick  to  see  that  agitated  young  being,  with 
sorroAV  and  trouble,  and  apparent  honor  in  her  face, 
no  matter  how  consequential  that  suspicion  may  have 
been,  subjected  to  the  suspicion  of  having  been  en 
gaged  in  a  base  violation  of  the  laws  of  society. 

Her  exposition  was  briefly  as  follows  :  that  she  im 
agined  she  heard  some  one  approaching  the  house  in  the 
park  ;  that  she  rose  and  saw  from  her  window  a  strange 
figure  gliding  stealthily  along  the  terrace ;  that  she  was 
proceeding  in  her  determination  to  alarm  William  and 
James,  sleeping  in  the  porter's  room,  when,  passing  the 
library,  she  saw  this  person  therein,  and  before  the  cab 
inet  with  the  table  lamp-lighted  ;  that,  in  'the  difficulty 
of  his  flight  which  ensued  upon  her  appearance,  the 
lamp  was  overturned,  which  she  sprang  to  restore,  and 
it  was  at  this  time  that  she  received  the  wound.  More 
minute  and  unimportant  particulars  she  hesitated  not 
to  give,  and  any  inclination  on  her  part  to  avoid  themJ 


222  DINAH. 

was  as  easily  referable  to  a  modest  repugnance  of 
dwelling  upon,  her  own  bravery,  as  to  any  thing 
else. 

Suffice  it  to  say,  that  to  all  others,  save  the  mother 
and  Charles,  the  relation  carried  satisfactory  conviction 
with  it ;  but  while  the  mother  gainsaid  it,  she  hardly 
knew  why,  Charles  had,  besides  a  confirmatory  tremor 
and  agitation  in  the  manner  of  the  young  girl  in  her 
recital,  a  distinct  reason  for  disbelieving  it.  Simply 
its  incompatibility  with  the  evidence  of  his  own  senses. 
The  peculiarity  and  unmistakability  of  the  voice  of  the 
person  who  had  attempted  this  midnight  robbery, 
indicated  a  groundwork  of  deceit  in  her  statement. 
That  voice  he  had  heard  emanating  from  the  lips  of  a 
person,  whether  supernatural  or  not,  whom  he  had  seen 
in  company  with  the  girl  on  terms  of  apparent  inti 
macy.  He  had  seen  that  person  more  distinctly  in  the 
graveyard,  which  now  proved  to  him,  with  the  aid  of 
this  last  occurrence,  that  he  was  not  mistaken  in  think 
ing  that  the  other  actor  in  the  wrangling  scene  could 
not  be  Rudolph,  his  love-sick  but  unromantic  neigh 
bor  ;  and  with  this  deduction  of  hypocrisy  in  reference 
to  that  case,  and  however  mysterious  may  have  been 
the  connection  of  this  voice  with  his  vivid  imagination 
in  the  dream  of  the  one  which  once  belonged  to  the 
old  pioneer,  and  however  singular  the  rude  handling 
solely  of  the  papers  which  bore  reference  to  the  posses 
sions  of  the  pioneer  and  his  posterity,  the  young  man 
felt  sure  at  least,  that  her  statement  was  untrue.  One 
point  he  happened  to  think  in  all  this  connection  of 
speculation  had  not  been  clear ;  and,  irritated  by  his 
baffled  desire  to  clear  up  the  matter,  and  vindicate  the 
girl  in  his  mind,  he  suddenly  asked  her,  with  a  min- 


DINAH.  223 

gled  air  of  triumphant  hope,  and  hesitating  fear  of 
making  her  discredit  her  own  statement,  displaying  all 
the  while  a  rather  paradoxical  reliance  on  her  honor, 
"  if  she  knew  who  this  person  was  with  whom 
she  had  come  in  contact  ? "  It  was  at  this  moment 
alone,  during  the  whole  of  the  conversation,  that  she 
seemed  thoroughly  decided  in  her  manner,  and  even  an 
appearance  of  anger  appeared  on  her  face,  as  she  denied 
the  questioner's  air  with  firm  words.  She  suddenly 
paused,  however,  perhaps  as  if  she  remembered  that  her 
father  had  once  committed  as  great  an  offence  as  that 
which  this  attempt  indicated.  Rejecting,  then,  the  ridic 
ulous  fancies  of  the  supernatural  which  had  been  raised 
in  his  mind,  and  otherwise  taking  a  comprehensive 
view  of  the  subject,  the  education  and  probable  tenden 
cies  of  the  girl,  together  with  erroneousness  in  his  ideas 
of  her  relations  with  the  young  man  Rudolph,  among 
other  particulars,  he  finally  rested  for  the  time  upon 
the  conclusion  that  the  girl  had  contemplated  this  rob 
bery  conjoined  with  an  accomplice ;  that,  during  the 
act,  they  had  commenced  to  quarrel,  as  he  had  seen 
them  before ;  and  that,  being  alarmed,  the  accomplice 
had  fled  without  the  booty.  But  here  another  singular 
fact  presented  itself  to  his  mind  in  opposition.  The 
dogs,  who  were  quite  fierce  and  usually  on  the  alert  at 
night,  had  not  prevented  the  approach  of  this  stranger 
to  the  house,  or  apparently  even  noticed  it ;  for  it  was 
not  until  the  explosion  of  the  gun,  fired  under  the  in 
fluence  of  human  fears,  that  they  were  aroused.  The 
mother  proposed  clearing  the  girl  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world  from  any  suspicion,  and  then  dismissing  her  from 
the  household  on  some  honorable  pretext,  with  a  sum  of 
money.  She  argued  that,  even  if  the  girl  were  innocent, 


224:  DINAH. 

the  occurrence  would  be  noised  abroad  in  the  neighbor 
hood  ;  that,  in  addition  to  the  already  unenviable  repu 
tation  which  she  and  her  father  bore,  such  was  the  na 
ture  of  the  community  in  which  they  lived,  that  an  im 
putation  from  this  occurrence  would  rest  upon  them, 
which  could  after  all  be  best  cleared  away  by  a  formal 
examination ;  that,  as  there  was  no  probability  of  her 
being  retained  in  custody,  but  on  the  contrary  might 
be  discharged  according  to  her  own  statements,  with 
some  honor,  they  had  better  submit  her  to  this  for 
mal  examination.  She  then  referred  to  the  inference 
which  was  undoubtedly  to  be  drawn  from  this,  and 
other  events  connected  with  the  girl,  that  she  was 
unreliable. 

"  What  other  events  ?  "  asked  Charles,  although  he 
immediately  thought  of  occurrences  which  certainly 
were  worthy  of  suspicion,  but  which  he  knew  his  mother 
to  be  unacquainted  with. 

The  mother  colored  slightly,  and  after  a  moment  of 

o  */  * 

apparent  confusion",  said  she  meant  to  refer  to  the  girl's 
character,  as  evinced  in  her  general  manners  and  habits 
of  thought  and  action. 

Charles,  taking  a  blind  pleasure  in  defending  the 
girl,  even  in  spite  of  his  own  convictions  of  her  deceit, 
at  first  denounced  the  proposition  almost  as  an  act  of 
cruelty  and  meanness  ;  but  he  afterwards  saw  that  his 
mother  was  right,  if  Dinah  was  to  be  dismissed,  and 
that,  although  she  was  not  particularly  disposed  towards 
the  girl,  sentiments  of  pity  had,  perhaps,  actuated  her  in 
proposing  this  step.  "  At  any  rate,"  thought  he,  "  she 
cannot  be  harmed  by  it,  and  if  she  is  really  unreliable, 
we  shall  feel  a  clearer  right  to  dismiss  her  thereafter." 

As  to  the  assistance  which  Charles  might  have  de- 


DINAH.  225 

rived  from  the  unhappy  Glucldnson  in  his  speculations, 
it  was  not  until  several  days  after  the  occurrence  that 
he  could  procure  from  him  any  statement  of  particulars 
sufficiently  lucid  to  be  considered  as  authority.  The 
youth  soon  revived,  indeed,  from  his  fainted  condition 
in  the  hall,  but  his  mind  was  in  an  extraordinary  state. 
On  recovering,  he  seized  the  empty  gun,  and  pointed 
it  violently  towards  a  door  which  led  from  the  hall 
into  a  passage-way  down-stairs.  This  new  alarm  of  his 
bewilderment  immediately  communicating  to  five  of 
the  Colonel's  colored  retainers  and  the  butler,  they  hus 
tled  back  of  him,  and  hurrying  him  towards  the  door 
with  many  struggles,  bolstered  him  up  thereat  in  his 
spirited  act  of  defence.  Turning  slowly,  he  at  first 
brought  the  weapon  to  bear  on  the  Colonel,  who  was 
fain  to  make  an  instinctive  motion  indicative  of  his 
desire  to  have  the  weapon  lowered,  and  then  he  pointed 
it  in  intense  excitement  at  the  extinguished  lamp  hang 
ing  in  the  hall.  Finally  an  indefinite  direction  ap 
peared  to  have  been  given  to  his  alarmed  fancy,  and 
for  some  time  afterwards,  as  he  imagined  foes  in  divers 
directions,  the  crowd  might  be  seen  rushing  convul 
sively  about  the  hall  from  one  spot  to  another,  pushing 
him  violently  towards  the  different  doors  and  windows, 
out  of  which  he  pointed  his  gun  in  a  frantic  manner 
at  various  objects.  The  confusion,  however,  being  in 
a  measure  quieted,  and  the  excited  domestics  being 
brought  to  a  temporary  stand-still,  Charles  endeavored 
to  question  him.  But,  as  before  stated,  nothing  could 
be  obtained  from  him  beyond  the  fact  that  he  had 
rushed  into  the  hall  and  fired  off  his  gun.  In  the  alarm 
of  the  occurrence,  he  had  been  temporarily  bereft  of  his 
wits,  and  it  was  not  until  a  week  or  two  afterwards 
10* 


226  DINAH. 

that  he  wholly  recovered,  being  a  part  of  that  time  in 
a  wandering  state,  during  which  he  manifested  his  hal 
lucination  in  a  harmless  manner,  by  writing  short  let 
ters  to  his  friends,  containing  mixed  ideas  upon  his  ill 
ness,  or  in  arranging  sticks,  stones,  and  sprigs  in  the 
form  of  a  flower-bed  upon  the  floor,  in  which  he  sat 
triumphantly,  and  from  which  he  frequently  selected 
straws,  and  kindly  offered  them  to  those  who  came  to 
visit  him ;  accompanying  his  gifts  with  such  remarks 
as  "  There's  rosemary  for  you  !  "  "  There's  gilliflower !  " 
and  alluding  now  and  then  to  the  fact  of  his  name  being 
Thomas,  and  his  being  in  a  chilled  condition !  From 
all  of  which,  it  was  gathered  that  he  had  been  a  stu 
dent  of  the  immortal  Shakspeare,  and  that  his  disor 
dered  ambition  was  now  running  upon  those  characters 
who  had  been  represented  by  the  great  master  as  hav 
ing  been  in  a  condition  similar  to  his  own.  He  was 
finally  restored  to  sanity,  however,  by  the  constant  ap 
plication  of  a  powerful  reactionary  agent  in  the  shape 
of  disgust,  produced  in  his  mind  by  the  aunt's  compel 
ling  him  to  swallow  at  stated  intervals  gruel  made  by 
his  enemy  the  cook,  which  was  exceedingly  unpleasant 
from  the  small  feathers  discernible  therein,  and  which 
often  stuck  in  his  throat  in  a  disagreeable  manner,  and 
bore  the  appearance  of  having  been  made  of  that  par 
ticular  kind  of  meal  which  had  been  devoted  to  the 
leisurely  access  of  the  fowls.  It  appeared,  however, 
from  the  statement  which  he  made  as  soon  as  his  mind 
was  restored  to  lucidity,  that  he  had  been  lying  in  bed 
that  evening,  speculating  upon  the  manner  in  which  he 
was  gradually  subjugating  the  cook.  For  several  nights 
past,  he  had  been  endeavoring  to  put  into  execution  a 
brilliant  thought  which  had  occurred  to  him,  of  achiev- 


DINAH.  227 

ing  success  at  once  and  in  a  decisive  manner ;  but  his 
constitutional  fears  of  darkness  had  somewhat  retarded 
his  progress.  His  project  consisted  in  approaching  the 
door  of  the  cook's  chamber  at  a  distant  end  of  the 
house,  in  the  still  watches  of  the  night,  and  groaning 
suppressedly  thereat,  upon  which,  as  she  would  probably 
be  induced  to  open  the  door  to  inquire  into  the  cause, 
he  intended  to  punch  her  violently  with  the  but-end  of 
an  old  gun  which  he  had  in  his  room,  accompanying 
the  measure  by  a  brief  statement  in  unearthly  accents 
that  he  was  a  supernatural  being,  come  to  punish  her 
for  her  misdeeds  towards  the  innocent  Gluckinson, 
whom  he  watched  over. 

On  this  night,  which  was  the  sixth,  having  been 
unable  to  get  beyond  the  threshold  of  his  door  for  the 
first  three,  lie  had  advanced  as  far  as  the  library  in  the 
execution  of  his  wily  project,  when  he  heard  a  noise 
therein,  and  saw  some  one  arresting  the  lamp  from  its 
fall,  which  scared  him  so  that  he  went  off  in  a  fainting 
fit  with  a  loud  cry,  and  the  gun  immediately  went  off 
too.  The  consequence  was  that  the  household  was 
aroused,  and  he  was  found  by  them  as  aforesaid  in  his 
frightened  condition.  The  report  was  also  the  cause  of 
another  singular  effect,  as  yet  unmentioiied,  which  it 
had  produced  upon  Charles's  aunt.  On  retiring  that 
evening,  having  blown  out  her  light,  and  in  accordance 
with  a  careful  temperament  placed  it  in  the  middle  of 
the  wash-basin  for  security  against  conflagration,  she 
sooner  or  later  commenced  to  dream ;  and  on  this  occa 
sion,  as  the  last  thing  she  thought  of  was  the  basin,  and 
the  perpetual  sub-stratum  of  her  thoughts  was  Pithkin, 
her  dreams  were  composed  of  various  changes  on  the 
possible  unions  which  might  be  made  of  these  two 


228  DINAH. 

subjects.  At  first,  she  dreamed  Pithkin,  in  a  fit  of 
jealousy,  tried  to  drown  himself  in  the  basin,  by  hold 
ing  his  head  therein  in  an  infatuated  moment,  and  that, 
failing  in  his  attempt,  he  kicked  it  in  a  disappointed 
manner  into  the  air.  Then  he  was  represented  to  her 
mind  as  a  statue  placed  in  Madison  square,  in  the  great 
metropolis,  holding  out  majestically,  in  his  right  hand, 
a  wash-basin,  in  which  were  five  blocks  of  houses,  piled 
one  on  top  of  the  other,  and  sustained  at  the  base  by 
two  bulls  standing  in  the  basin  in  a  caryatid  manner. 

Three  thousand  girls,  belonging  to  the  principal 
school  of  the  city,  marching  by  in  solemn  proces 
sion,  each  fired  off  at  the  basin,  as  they  passed,  a 
large-sized  bottle  of  blue  ink,  and  finally  the  lady 
bringing  up  the  rear,  elderly,  but  still  beautiful,  gave 
it  aTiolent  kick  with  her  foot,  (her  leg  growing  sud 
denly  to  an  enormous  length,)  and  it  flew  into  a  thous 
and  atoms.  At  the  same  time,  her  back-bone  cracked 
with  a  loud  crepitation,  and  the  aunt  was  awakened  by 
the  report.  She  had  just  time  to  observe,  in  the  dim 
ness,  the  candlestick  strike  the  ceiling  violently,  and 
the  basin  fall  on  the  floor  in  two  large  fragments,  when 
she  concluded  to  faint  away.  Gluckinsou,  who  was 
now  lying  in  a  similar  condition  below,  had  put  a  bul 
let  directly  through  the  centre  of  the  bowl.  The  aunt 
lay  comfortably  in  that  state  until  somebody  reached 
her  apartment,  and  revived  her,  and  off  and  on,  until 
morning,  was  lying  in  fitful  conditions,  more  or  less 
comatose. 


DINAH.  229 


;.  CHAPTER   XXXII. 

NAT  13  INFOEMED  OF  THE  OCCUEEENCE. 

THE  young  lawyer,  Mr.  Bonney,  sat  in  his  office  the 
next  moniing  after  the  occurrence  at  the  Place,  writhing 
in  the  anguish  of  poetical  composition.  He  had  pro 
posed  to  write  an  ode  to  Miss  Wellwood,  on  her  having 
refused  to  dance  with  him,  and  had  reduced  himself  to 
a  state  of  semi-intoxication  for  that  purpose.  A  little 
boy  walked  up  the  avenue  of  rose-bushes,  and  was 
about  to  cross  the  threshold,  when  he  observed  the 
semi-possessed  advocate's  agitated  movements,  and 
thought  it  advisable,  with  the  admirable  sagacity  of 
youths  of  his  age,  to  await  at  the  door. 

"  Go  away !  "  said  Nat,  "  I'm  out." 

"  I've  got  a  letter  for  you,"  said  the  boy,  imme 
diately  pulling  out  of  his  pocket  four  tops,  two  sau 
sages,  and  a  pet  frog,  in  order  to  produce  the  epistle. 

"  Well,  put  it  down,  and  run  home  and  tell  your 
mother  she  wants  you,"  said  Nat,  relapsing  into  his 
meditation,  and  gazing  distractedly  through  the  youth 
into  the  vacancy  behind.  A  person  looking  at  noth 
ing  presents  much  the  same  appearance  as  a  man  who 
has  suddenly  perceived  symptoms  of  cholera  in  his  sys 
tem,  and  the  good  little  boy,  much  affected,  asked  him 
if  he  should  run  for  the  doctor. 

'  And  light  of  my  soul — 
And  light  of  my  soul,  these  heaven-born  thrills — ' 

The  devil  finish  the  verses.  He  is  a  poet,  and  knows 
how.  Stay,  boy,  give  me  a  rhyme  to  'thrills.'  I'm 
confused." 


230  DIN  All. 

"  Pills !  "  said  the  boy,  promptly. 

"  By  Jove !  it  is  singular.  This  tender  boy  has 
opened  a  new  channel  of  thought.  I'll  begin  again. 
It  is  a  sublime  idea,  and  must  be  in  blank  verse : 

'  The  groaning  Gods  of  eld,  sick  with  ambrosial  surfeit, 
Medicin'd  their  giant  frames  with  swallowed  planets.' 

It's  good,  but  how  to  apply  it  to  her  refusing  to 
dance  with  me,  must  at  present  be  left  to  destiny. 
D — n  it,  there  is  more  labor  in  this  than  I  thought 
,there  was.  Hollo,  boy,  what  do  you  want  here  ?  Go 
away !  " 

"  Give  me  a  cent,  will  you  ?  " 

"  There  are  two  for  you.  Go  and  buy  food  for 
worms  with  'em  at  the  confectioners.  Hold  on !  wait ! 
The  letter  is  poisoned.  Medici,  what  a  nasty-looking 
epistle.  What  is  this  ?  '  For  a  Square,  Gnat?  written 
up  in  one  corner,  and  '  Bonney '  all  over  the  face.  The 
rectangular  gnat,  without  doubt,  got  scared  at  the 
Bonney,  which  is  another  formidable  insect,  and  flew 
up  into  the  corner.  '•Deer  Sire,  sins  the  whoful  events 
apende  l&rste  heave-Ning — '  ^Ning  ! '  Let  me  see,  what 
language  is  'Ning*  in  ?  i!Tiev  suffrd  withphever,  and 
also  I  suffer  with  attacks  from  eggs,  and  I  think  I  shell 
Ije  obligged  to  suckum  !  I  et  won  plate  of  Bucket-Hash 
and — '  Now,  my  friend,"  said  Nat,  unable  to  restrain 
himself,  and  addressing  the  small  boy,  "  in  confidence, 
tell  me  who  is  he,  and  excuse  the  temporary  ebullition 
of  profanity,  what  the  devil  does  he  mean  by  suffering 
with  attacks  from  eggs,  and  being  obliged  to  suck  'em  ? 
Why,  he  hasn't  signed  his  name.  Who  is  he  ?  Where 
did  it  come  from  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  the  boy.     "  A  nigger  man 


DINAH.  231 

gave  it  to  me,  and  told  me  if  I  gave  it  to  you,  you'd 
give  me  a  cent."  Here  he  darted  off  to  the  candy 
woman's,  leaving  Nat  to  continue  his  perusal  of  this 
entertaining  epistle,  of  which  he  was  unable  to  make 
any  thing  definite,  the  writer  having  filled  the  remain 
der  with  analogous  stuff,  about  some  attempts  which 
had  been  made  on  his  life  since  a  certain  occurrence, 
by  a  person  who,  from  all  appearances,  must  have  been 
the  cook  of  the  establishment  in  which  he  resided,  as 
the  said  essays  at  his  destruction  were  evidently  made 
through  the  medium  of  his  food.  However,  his  curi 
osity  was  so  much  aroused,  that  he  thought  it  advisable 
to  comply  with  a  request  of  the  writer  contained  in 
the  note,  to  meet  him  at  the  hour  of  eleven,  which  was 
approaching,  within  the  precincts  of  a  certain  shady 
grove  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  where  he  would  in 
person  disclose  farther  particulars  respecting  the  in 
famous  affair.  At  his  approach  to  this  sequestered 
spot,  he  discovered  Mr.  Pithkin  there,  evidently  in  a 
state  of  expectancy  similar  to  his  own,  the  necessities 
of  which  demanded  the  arrival  of  another  and  more 
mysterious  party,  for  that  worthy  citizen  immediately, 
and  with  much  alacrity,  dodged  behind  a  tree  to  avoid 
the  advocate's  observation.  After  some  time  passed  by 
the  two  in  entirely  ignoring  each  other's  presence,  and 
continually  passing  from  one  bush  to  another  in  a  secret 
and  silent  manner,  or  eyeing  one  another  from  a  distance, 
Nat  came  away  quite  dissatisfied,  as  the  third  party 
did  not  approach,  and  he  was  more  unable  to  solve 
the  curious  document  than  ever.  Having  returned  to 
his  office  and  bestowed  much  unavailing  reflection 
upon  this  singular  matter,  he  finally  shut  the  windows 
of  his  office,  and  placing  himself  in  an  arm-chair,  shut 


232  DINAH. 

the  windows  of  his  soul  also,  and  stopped  reflecting 
altogether,  believing,  with  the  famous  French  philoso 
pher,  the  process  of  thinking  as  a  general  thing  to  be 
unhealthy,  and  to  be  indulged  in  sparingly.  An  hour 
or  two  after  this  the  little  boy  approached  again  with 
a  second  letter. 

"  Go  away.  You  can't  blackmail  me.  You've 
mistaken  your  man,  I  tell  you,"  said  Nat,  rousing  from 
his  nap  with  great  presence  of  mind.  "  Begone,  dull — 
boy !  "  The  little  boy  freely  left  the  letter  this  time 
without  remuneration.  Money  was  no  longer  of  any 
consequence  to  him.  He  was  gorged,  and  all  he  want 
ed  now  was  a  place  of  retirement  and  sequestration  for 
a  short  span  from  the  cares  of  life. 

This  letter,  it  seems,  had  been  taken  from  the  person 
of  a  colored  gentleman,  inebriated  at  a  neighboring 
publican's,  as  the  latter,  according  to  his  humane  custom 
in  summer,  was  carefully  placing  him  in  his  ice-house, 
to  be  kept  from  spoiling  with  the  heat.  It  was  written 
by  Colonel  Norcomb,  and  from  its  contents  Nat  was 
enabled  to  judge  that  the  other  was  a  mark  of  friend 
ship  from  the  retainer  Gluckinson.  The  Colonel  gave 
an  account  of  the  occurrence  at  the  Place,  stating, 
among  other  matters,  that  Gluckinson  had  been  tempo 
rarily  bereaved  of  his  wits  by  the  affair,  and  that  his 
insanity  had  commenced  to  show  itself  in  that  exceed 
ingly  prevalent  form  of  a  desire  to  write  letters  when 
he  hadn't  any  thing  to  communicate.  He  alluded  to 
the  probability  that  Charles  would  confer  with  him 
during  the  day,  in  reference  to  the  occurrence,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  inform  him  that  the  coming  Thursday  had 
been  set  for  his  departure  to  Saratoga  with  his  wife 
and  Charles's  mother,  and  that  he  intended  to  visit  the 


DINAH.  233 

neighborhood  of  New  York  before  his  return,  in  order 
to  meet  a  friend  from  South  Carolina,  who  having  been 
convicted  of  circulating  the  Bible  as  an  incendiary  doc 
ument  among  his  slaves,  and  the  choice  having  been 
accorded  to  him  of  being  hung,  or  of  reading  the  letters 
and  speeches  of  Henry  A.  Wise,  had  fled  to  the  North. 
The  letter  concluded  with  an  allusion  to  Miss  "Well- 
wood,  in  which  the  Colonel  expressed  his  deprecation 
of  her  conduct  towards  the  young  advocate,  in  lan 
guage  which  Nat  generously  concluded  the  writer  had 
probably  been  led  to  believe  was  the  height  of  impas 
sioned  philippic,  from  a  faithful  perusal  of  the  Charles 
ton  Mercury  since  infancy.  "  By  Jove  !  it  is  a  little 
too  strong,"  exclaimed  he.  "  I  never  saw  such  black 
guard  stuff  in  my  life — '  black-hearted  malignity  of  con 
duct — atrocious  sentiment  of  pestiferous  antipathy.' 
However,  it  is  all  in  the  ardor  of  liis  friendship  for 
me." 

Although  the  Southerner  apologized  for  the  idle  con 
tents  of  the  letter,  by  stating  that  it  was  for  the  pur 
pose  of  giving  his  rascally  niggers  something  to  do, 
and,  while  curiously  enough,  there  seemed  to  be  a  para 
doxical  air  therein  of  suspicion  of  the  young  girl 
Dinah,  it  was  evidently  written  with  an  honest  desire 
to  protect  her  as  much  as  possible  in  her  troubles,  and 
failed  not  to  have  its  weight  with  the  well-disposed 
young  advocate. 


234:  DINAH. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

A   JUDICIAL   EXAMINATION". 

THE  town,  of  Templeville  is  a  town  rotten  -with 
talent.  There  may  be  other  towns  like  it,  but  few  ; 
as  there  are  not  great,  men  enough  in  the  world  to 
make  up  many  such  places.  There  is  one  more,  of 
course.  On  the  other  end  of  the  diameter  running 
from  this  place  through  the  centre  of  the  earth,  another 
has  been  wisely  placed,  in  order  to  keep  this  great 
globe  well-balanced,  as  it  bowls  around  the  azure 
circus.  The  inhabitants  actually  stagger  under  the 
weight  of  genius  which  Providence  has  ordained  they 
shall  carry,  as  the  simple  aborigines  did  in  Pizarro's 
time,  who  used  to  go  about,  laboring  enthusiastically 
under  a  weight  of  golden  ornaments  which  they  never 
knew  the  value  of.  Everybody  there  is  possessed  of  an 
immense  fund  of  unnecessary  information  respecting 
somebody  else,  and  expecting  daily  to  find  out  some 
thing  more ;  and  the  militia  of  society  there  keep  their 
reputations  in  such  a  state  of  lustrous  brightness,  that 
when  they  brandish  this  shield  in  the  faces  of  the 
wicked  they  do  battle  with,  it  is  enough  to  put  the 
latter's  eyes  out,  and  make  them  fall. 

It  having  been  stated  that  a  servant  had  been  ar 
rested  at  Pompney  Place  for  the  triple  crime  of  theft, 
arson,  and  attempt  at  murder,  and  that  there  would  be 
a  preliminary  examination  of  the  would-be  assassin 
before  the  newly  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  Judge 
Pithkin,  there  was  a  tremendous  rush  to  the  court  at 
the  time  appointed.  It  was  not  that  there  was  any 


DINAH.     •  235 

lack  of  litigation  and  court  business  in  this  neighbor 
hood,  for  there  was  hardly  a  day  in  which  some  indi 
vidual  did  not  charge  his  neighbor  with  harboring  an 
intolerable  bull,  who  kept  goring  his  peaceful  ox  ;  but 
criminal  trials  were  comparatively  rare  in-  the  district, 
owing  to  the  fact,  that  when  a  crime  was  committed, 
the  police  suspected  everybody,  and  rarely  apprehended 
the  criminal  from  the  inefficiency  caused  by  their  dis 
traction.  The  predecessor  of  the  new  justice  had 
died  of  joy  just  after,  and  in  consequence  of  being  ele 
vated  to  fill  the  place,  and  the  inhabitants,  by  an  over 
whelming  vote,  had  immediately  requested  Mr.  Pithkin 
to  take  his  place,  perhaps  with  the  expectancy  that  the 
same  order  of  events  would  be  repeated.  From  the 
instinctive  desire  to  behold  a  human  being  in  distress, 
the  citizens  commenced  to  throng  to  the  court-room,  to 
which  the  constable  was  disposed  to  deny  them  admit 
tance,  without  doubt  from  the  same  motive. 

"  "What  are  you  about,  Taylor  ?  "  said  the  justice, 
on  arriving  and  noticing  the  struggle.  "  Let  'em  in, 
constable,  let  my  friends  in  !  Let  'em  all  in !  Place 
chairs  up  near  the  bench  even !  Let  them  be  near 
me  !  I  do  not  feel  proud  at  all,  gentlemen  !  " 

"  But  I  thought  I  was  not  to  let  any  damned  rascals 
in,  unless  they  belonged  to  the  profession  !  "  .said  the 
constable,  who  was  a  feeble  and  modest  man,  and  who 
had  been  led  to  use  this  bad  language  simply  from  the 
excitement  of  his  position. 

The  young  girl,  Dinah,  recovered  from  her  wound, 
and  other  persons  immediately  interested  were  present, 
and  the  judge  took  his  seat,  looking  around  affably. 
"  Open  the  court,"  said  he,  after  a  hushing  murmur 
went  around  the  audience. 


236  .     DINAH. 

The  constable  blushing  deeply,  looked  under  the 
benches  in  a  hesitating  manner,  as  if  seeking  for  some 
prying  instrument  necessary  for  the  operation,  and 
then  in  an  inaudible  manner,  swelling  in  gradual  assu 
rance,  exclaimed,  "  Oh  yes !  Oh  yes  !  I  do  now  pro 
claim  this  court  to  be  open,  accordin'  to  law,  by  order 
of  the  justice  of  the  4th  district,  Devolvement  Pithkin. 
Oh  yes !  " 

"  Taylor,"  said  the  justice,  bending  his  gaze  upon 
him,  "  the  form  is  imperfect." 

"  By  order  of  the  justice  of  the  district,  Honorable 
D.  Pithkin,"  iterated  the  constable. 

"  "Who  is  counsel  for  the  prisoner  ? "  asked  the 
judge,  in  a  satisfied  manner. 

"  I  never  thought  of  that,"  said  the  prisoner.  The 
many  eyes  bent  upon  her  confused  her  somewhat.  "  I 
didn't  think — I  didn't  think  it  necessary  to  have  one  !  " 

"  Never  mind — never  mind  that — "  said  Charles, 
quickly,  in  a  whisper.  "  Confound  this  folly  of  mine. 
I  have  spoken  with  Mr.  Bonney,  Dinah,  and  have  told 
him  all  about  the  occurrence.  It  will  only  be  a  few 
minutes,  and  you  will  be  cleared." 

"  I  shall  serve  in  that  capacity,  if  your  Honor 
pleases,"  said  Nat. 

"  Yery  well !  Yery  well ! "  said  the  judge,  quickly. 
"  As  the  court  is  as  yet  somewhat  imperfectly  ac 
quainted  with  its  duty,  owing  to  its  recent  elevation, 
it  has  requested  the  assistance  of  a  legal  friend,  Mr. 
Bildad  Knox,  in  the  questions  it  shall  put  in  the 
course  of  the  examination.  Do  you  waive  the  slight 
irregularity,  Mr.  Bonney  ?  " 

"  I  waive  !  "  said  Nat. 

This  announcement  immediately  produced  a  sensa- 


DINAH.  237 

tion  among  tlie  more  uninformed  of  the  spectators,  who 
expected  to  witness  some  operation  on  the  part  of  the 
young  lawyer,  akin  to  the  impressive  ceremony  which 
is  usually  performed  with  the  American  flag,  when 
the  general  comes  down  before  the  militia. 

"  And — there  he  is !  Mr.  Bildad  Knox  will  please 
take  a  seat  adjacent  to  the  court!"  said  the  judge, 
with  a  smile  of  condescension,  as  an  elderly  individual, 
remarkable  for  having  in  his  possession  a  very  large 
forehead  and  a  very. small  trunk,  entered  the  court 
room,  slammed  the  proffered  chair  violently  on  the 
floor  twice,  and  then  sat  down  in  it,  in  an  important 
manner.  His  forehead,  by  the  way,  he  carried  in  the 
usual  place,  and  his  trunk  under  his  arm,  having  evi 
dently  borne  in  mind,  in  relation  to  the  latter,  on  start 
ing  out  that  morning  from  his  ofiice,  the  advice  of  the 
aged  elephant  to  his  only  son,  on  starting  out  into  the 
world,  and  taken  it  with  him.  However,  both  articles 
looked  as  if  they  had  nothing  in  them ;  and  the  former, 
singular  as  it  may  appear,  looked  as  if  it  were  not  his. 

"  It  is  somewhat  remarkable,"  said  the  judge,  with 
the  preconcerted  intention  of  producing  an  impression 
at  the  outset,  "  that  things  have  gone  on  worse  in  this 
neighborhood,  since  I've  got  into  office,  than  they  were 
ever  known  to  before.  This  prisoner  is  charged,"  con 
tinued  he,  after  a  moment,  amid  suppressed  excitement, 
and  reading  furtively  from  a  paper  which  he  had  pre 
pared,  and  hidden  behind  his  hat,  "  with  wilfully  and 
feloniously  having  entered  the  house,  commonly  known 
in  these  parts  as  Pompney  Place,  on  the  night  of  the 
16th,  and  then  and  there,  with  bayonets,  sabres,  cut 
lasses — with  cimeters,  sticks,  bludgeons  and  cudgels, 
— with  swords,  broadswords  and  rapiers,  (great  sensation 


238  DINAH. 

among  the  audience,)  poniards,  stilettos  and  battle- 
axes,  claymores,  poleaxes,  bowie-knives,  tomahawks, 
catapults,  battering-rams,  and — " 

"  "Wait  a  moment !  "  said  ISTat.  "  I  suggest  to  the 
court,  that  its  course  of  proceeding,  though  somewhat 
novel,  is  perfectly  allowable,  I  suppose,  but  still  may 
somewhat  encumber  the  examination  with  which  it  is 
now  engaged." 

"  The  court  won't  be  interrupted,"  said  the  authori 
tative  individual,  conscious  of  his  power,  and  infected 
with  courage  by  the  catalogue  of  tremendous  instru 
ments  of  warfare  which  he  was  recapitulating. 

"  I  suggest  to  the  court,"  said  Mr.  Bildad  Knox, 
"  that  the  prosecuting  witness  be  immediately  ex 
amined,  afterwards  the  other  witnesses,  and  then  the 
accused  sent  to  jail." 

The  evidence  of  the  prosecuting  witness,  who  was 
Charles,  was  thereupon  immediately  taken,  and  was 
certainly  remarkable.  As  prosecuting  evidence,  its  chief 
merit  must  have  laid  decidedly  in  that  which  he  didn't 
say,  for  the  facts  of  the  case  which  he  stated  were  all  in 
favor  of  the  prisoner.  As  Mr.  Pithkin  was  a  human 
being,  he  felt  disappointed.  He  remembered  that  she 
laughed  at  him,  when  he  was  unavoidably  pitched  out 
of  a  conveyance.  Besides  the  weight  of  this  reflection, 
he  felt  that  if  the  accused  were  committed,  the  impor 
tance  of  his  position  would  be  heightened  in  the  eyes 
of  the  community.  However,  the  judge  immediately 
rose  superior  to  the  man.  The  consciousness  of  his 
stern  position  as  a  dispenser  of  justice  triumphed  over 
his  prejudices.  Other  witnesses,  the  servants  of  the 
house,  were  examined,  who  knew  nothing  at  all  about 
the  matter,  the  judge  being  particular  to  take  notes 


DINAH.  •     239 

of  their  evidence  above  the  others ;  and  then  the  reser 
voir  of  witnesses  being  exhausted,  a  short  pause  en 
sued,  during  which,  the  judge  commenced  to  revolve 
a  plan  of  examining  everybody  in  the  audience  as  to 
what  they  knew  about  the  matter,  in  order  to  prolong 
the  excitement.  Soon  after,  Colonel  Norcomb,  who 
had  been  disinclined  to  appear  as  a  witness,  it  .not 
being  necessary  at  all,  drove  up  to  the  door  with 
Charles's  aunt,  and  Charles,  being  anxious  that  his  own 
favorable  testimony  should  be  corroborated  by  the  Col- 
,onel's,  persuaded  him  to  appear.  As  they  entered  the 
court-room,  the  countenance  of  the  judge  was  singu 
larly  affected,  'and  as  he  fixed  his  eyes  upon  the  South 
erner,  his  feelings  appeared  to  have  been  suddenly 
estranged  from  his  kind. 

"  Name  ?  "  said  he,  gruffly.  The  dignity  of  the 
judge,  as  well  as  the  affability  of  the  man,  appeared  to 
be  strangely  deserting  him.  However,  although  he 
was  slightly  acquainted  with  the  witness  in  society,  it 
was  not  to  be  expected  that  he  should  know  him  on 
the  bench.  The  Colonel  gave  his  name. 

"  No  other  name  ?  No  alias  f  "  continued  Mr. 
Pithkin,  looking  at  the  witness  severely. 

"  Eh  !  what  ?  "  asked  the  astounded  Colonel. 

The  court  whispered  to  Mr.  Bildad  Knox. 

"  Certainly,  certainly,"  said  the  latter,  looking  at 
the  court  approvingly  after  a  moment ;  "  the  statute 
expressly  provides  that  no  idiot  or  criminal  shall  be  re 
ceived  as  a  witness  in  any  court  of  this  State  !  There 
appears  to  be  some  just  doubt  in  the  mind  of  the  court," 
continued  he,  looking  around,  "  whether  this  individual 
can  be  sworn  as  a  witness,  before  he  has  been  examined 
as  to  his  mental  and  moral  capacity  to  testify  !  " 


24:0  DINAH. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  apply  that  infernal  statute  to 
me  ?  "  asked  the  Colonel,  whose  blood  was  beginning 
to  boil. 

"  The  court  will  not  say  you  are  either  of  these," 
replied  Judge  Pithkin,  calmly,  and  putting  himself  in 
an  affable  position  ;  "  but  being  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  your  idiosyncracies  and  also  your  antecedents, 
from  the  fact  that  you  have  been  until  recently  a  stran 
ger  to  this  community,  how  does  the  court  know  you 
are  not  ?  You  may  be  both." 

"  The  statute  doesn't  preclude  idiots  from  becoming 
judges,  at  any  rate !  "  said  'the  Colonel,  relieving  his 
feelings  slightly.  At  these  audacious  words,  the  court 
appeared  to  be  moved  internally,  but  by  a  superhuman 
effort  regained  its  composure. 

"  Sit  down  and  hold  your  tongue !  "  said  he,  after 
thinking  a  moment,  with  great  presence  of  mind. 

"  I  have  the  honor  and  lassitude  to  do  as  you  say," 
said  the  Colonel,  who  was  disposed  to  yield,  as  he  was 
tired  of  standing,  and  felt  that  he  had  crushed  the  judge 
enough  in  his  last  remark. 

"  He  certainly  has  a  cunning  look,"  said  Mr.  Bildad 
Knox,  turning  to  the  judge,  on  noticing  the  smile  of 
the  Colonel.  "  Do  you  know  the  nature  of  an  oath, 
man  ?  "  continued  he,  addressing  the  latter. 

"  Oh,  never  mind,"  said  the  judge,  "  let  him  pass  ; 
you  may  swear  him." 

The  Colonel  was  put  on  the  stand,  and  commenced 
his  evidence  by  stating,  in  a  romantic  manner,  that 
"  truth  was  stranger  than  fiction, — that — " 

"  Hold,  wait !  "  said  the  judge ;  "  a  man  who  be 
lieves  truth  to  be  stranger  than  fiction  is  certainly  not 
reliable  as  a  witness.  He  can't  go  on."  And  here 


DINAH.  24:1 

another  trouble  ensued,  which  lasted  some  time.  How 
ever,  the  Colonel  was  finally  allowed  to  give  his  testi 
mony  uninterrupted,  and  the  examination  closed  there 
with.  Mr.  Bildad  Knox  then  proceeded  to  address  the 
audience  in  a  speech,  of  which  the  first  half  was  entirely 
unintelligible,  and  the  last  half  simply  improper  to  be 
put  forth  under  any  circumstances  ;  the  former  being  a 
summary  of  the  evidence,  and  the  latter  the  usual  vitu 
peration  of  somebody,  with  which  advocates  invariably 
think  it  necessary  to  wind  up  with,  the  lawyer  in  this 
case  having  selected  Babington  Macaulay,  the  great 
historian,  as  the  object  of  his  obloquy.  Nat  replied  in 
a  speech  full  of  felicities,  by  such  comparisons  as  liken 
ing  the  judge's  character  to  the  sun — that  there  might 
be  spots  in  it,  but  they  did  not  interfere  with  its  bril 
liancy,  and  it  was  a  source  of  wonder  how  they  got 
there ;  that  Americans  knew  the  price  of  liberty,  be 
cause  they  knew  the  price  of  every  thing  ;  that  with  a 
mysterious  and  sacred  mutuality,  by  their  very  exist 
ence  they  conferred  an  everlasting  and  inexpensive 
dignity  upon  each  other ;  that  the  noblest  death  he 
knew  of  was  to  be  killed  by  the  fall  of  a  liberty-pole — 
a  patriot's  death  ;  and  wound  up  by  blackguarding 
Mr.  Bildad  Knox  in  a  manner  which  entirely  surpassed 
that  individual's  effort  in  billingsgate,  and  excited  the 
audience  to  the  highest  pitch,  from  the  fact  that  its  ob 
ject  was  present,  and  personal  vengeance  might  be  ex 
pected  to  be  taken  by  him  at  any  moment.  The  judge 
then  delivered  his  decision  amidst  an  intense  hush,  and 
proceeded  to  observe  that  the  prisoner  must  be  commit 
ted,  and  the  witnesses  put  under  bonds  to  appear  at  the 
next  general  term  of  oyer  and  terminer  in  the  Decem 
ber  following,  with  the  exception  of  the  witness  E"or- 
11 


242  DINAH. 

comb,  whom  lie  should  order  to  be  incarcerated  until 
that  period,  as  his  testimony  was  too  valuable  to  permit 
of  his  being  let  out  on  bail ;  but  Mr.  Bildad  Knox 
whispering  to  him  simply  that  he  couldn't  do  it,  he  ob 
served  that  on  the  whole  the  prisoner  must  be  dis 
charged.  That  he  didn't  know  which  was  the  most 
detrimental  to  the  proper  administration  of  the  laws 
and  a  judicious  execution  of  justice,  to  believe  that  the 
occurrence  took  place  in  all  the  particulars  as  evolved 
from  the  witnesses,  if  it  did  not,  or  to  disbelieve  it,  if  it 
did.  That  to  withhold  the  belief  of  the  court  in  this 
occurrence,  if  the  court  had  witnessed  it  itself,  might 
truly  be  said  to  be  difficult ;  but  that  to  give  the  assent 
of  the  court  because  it  was  witnessed  by  other  individ 
uals,  would  call  for  too  heavy  an  endorsement  of  the 
character  of  some  of  them,  (looking  at  the  Southerner,) 
a  responsibility  which  the  court  was  unwilling  to  as 
sume.  That  the  court  was  not  obliged  to  give  any 
reason  for  any  thing  it  did,  but  that  it  was  willing  to 
state,  among  other  matters,  that  as  the  witnesses  who 
saw  the  accused  in  the  library,  evidently  didn't  know 
what  she  was  there  for,  and  as  the  number  of  those  who 
didn't  see  her  there  greatly  preponderated  over  those 
who  did,  the  court  would  order  an  entry  to  be  made 
discharging  the  prisoner. 

And  so  Dinah  was  discharged,  ISTat  having  decided 
beforehand  that  Charles  should  refrain  from  making 
any  allusion  to  his  fancies,  and  that  the  girl  might 
hold  her  peace  during  the  examination. 


DINAH.  24:3 


CHAPTER    XXXIY. 

THE    OLD    MAN    IK    TROUBLE. 

ON  the  day  succeeding  the  examination  of  Dinah, 
the  justice,  Pithkiu,  who  was  suffering  from  the  reaction 
of  that  excitement,  and  was  regretting  that  he  had  not 
been  able  to  imprison  a  half  dozen  of  people,  the  pris 
oner,  one  or  two  witnesses,  and  both  lawyers  for  con 
tempt,  aroused  from  his  torpid  revery  as  he  walked  slow 
ly  along  one  of  the  avenues  of  the  village,  on  hearing  the 
exciting  sound  of  merriment  and  laughter  from  grown 
as  well  as  childish  voices.  He  looked  up  and  observed 
in  the  distance  an  old  man  in  a  state  unbecoming  gray 
hairs.  His  relaxed  muscles  hardly  sustained  his  stag 
gering  form,  while  the  lines  of  his  face  bore  the  well- 
known  indications  that  another  intellect  was  on  fire. 
And  yet  the  fury  was  unable  wholly  to  extinguish  the 
marks  of  sorrow,  if  not  of  other  intelligence,  still  per 
ceptible  there,  beneath  the  idiotic  grin  and  excited 
glare  of  drunkenness.  The  old  man  here  stopped  sud 
denly  and  seemed  to  address  the  hushed  crowd,  which 
had  gathered  around.  His  incoherent  accents  produced 
another  roar  of  laughter,  one  of  the  boys  turning  a  som 
ersault  to  express  his  delight,  and  then  the  procession 
moved  on  again  after  the  aged  being  in  profound  grati 
fication,  as  he  now  and  then  varied  his  eccentric  course 
by  obliquely  encountering  a  tree-box,  or  executing  a 
serpentine  manoeuvre. 

He  had  performed,  with  great  difficulty,  the  feat  of 
extricating  his  handkerchief  from  his  pocket,  and  was 


244:  DINAH. 

engaged  in  instinctive  essays  to  free  his  forehead  from 
the  dew  distilled  thereon  by  the  physical  torment 
of  his  nature,  when  his  eye  struck  a  little,  chubby, 
rosy-cheeked,  dirty-faced  boy,  whose  little  soul,  while 
it  could  not  comprehend  the  scene,  had  been  asserting 
its  joyous  nature  in  infantile  shouting  and  hurrahs 
with  the  rest.  The  old  man  waved  his  handkerchief 
towards  the  little  cherub  as  a  token  of  approach,  and 
by  the  wildness  of  the  manner  struck  such  terror  into 
the  infant  that  he  was  immediately  reduced  to  an 
excessively  pituitous  condition.  He  then  issued  an 
excited  order  to  the  assembled  crowd  to  all  go  to 
the  devil,  when  the  liquor  doing  its  climacteric  work, 
threw  him  heavily  over  to  the  ground.  An  old  man 
drunk  is  the  sublimity  of  earthly  misery  or  human 
frenzy.  His  head  struck  with  force  the  pavement,  his 
coat  was  torn  by  an  adjacent  tree-box,  and  his  aged 
breast  was  exposed  to  the  gaze  of  the  assemblage. 

A  young  girl  had  been  approaching  the  crowd 
from  the  opposite  direction.  As  quick  as  thought  she 
reached  the  unhappy  fallen  being.  She  threw  over 
him  her  mantle,  and  then  stood  in  front,  her  fragile 
form  almost  fiercely  erected  to  shield  his  exposed  form 
from  the  improper  gaze  of  the  now  rapidly  gathering 
crowd.  It  was  the  girl  Dinah,  who  had  sought  and 
thus  found  her  father,  wandered  from  his  home.  There 
was  not  a  demand  for  respect  in  her  face,  but  it  seemed 
almost  a  command  to  honor  her  parent,  as  she  stood 
there  at  the  moment  in  an  attitude  of  defence,  with  her 
full  eyes  bent  upon  the  crowd.  With  the  trembling 
tenderness  of  filial  piety  she  turned  to  raise  him  from 
the  ground,  and  a  man  stepped  out  of  the  crowd  to  as 
sist  her. 


DINAH.  24:5 

"  So  the  old  fellow  is  drunk  again,  is  he  ?  "  said  a 
villager  to  another,  by  way  of  recognition  of  matters. 

"  Drunk  again  !  "  reiterated  the  other  ;  "  the  same 
drunk  he  has  been  engaged  in  ever  since  he  got  out  of 
prison,  I  guess." 

"  Drunk !  he  is  sober,  you  mean,",  interposed  the 
apothecary,  with  a  grin.  "  He  ain't  used  to  being 
sober,  and  that's  what  makes  him  act  so." 

"  I  pity  him  !  "  said  another.  "  His  daughter's  be 
ing  tried,  and  his  own  degradation  has  made  him  get 
drunk  to  drown  his  trouble.  He  always  seemed  fitted 
to  be  something  besides  that  which  he  is." 

The  mob  of  boys  had  become  quiet,  and  although 
there  was  ample  ludicrous  cause  in  the  flaccid,  uncer 
tain  manner  in  which  the  old  man  rose  from  the  ground, 
an  honest  hush  succeeded.  In  all  the  purity  of  nature's 
sympathy,  one  or  two  of  the  small  boys  had  begun  to 
cry,  they  knew  not  why  hardly,  on  looking  into  Dinah's 
face,  as  she  took  one  hand  of  her  father  to  guide  his 
erring  footsteps;  and  the  most  riotous,  and  the  ring 
leader,  in  fact,  of  the  youths,  was  actually  engaged  in 
belaboring  another  for  having  hooted  after  the  old  man. 

"  Let  me  take' your  place  !  I  will  take  your  place ! 
I  can  hold  him  up  better  !  "  said  another  of  the  villagers 
to  Dinah,  stepping  forward  kindly. 

"  Away  !  "  here  burst  forth  the  justice,  Pithkin,  to 
the  crowd,  accompanying  his  command  with  a  majestic 
gesture.  "  I  order  you  to  disperse.  Go  off."  His 
voice  was  a  little  husky ;  something  for  the  moment 
struck  to  the  depth  of  his  obtuse  yet  honest  intelligence, 
as  he  saw  their  actions  and  faces  in  the  scene,  which 
told  him  that  neither  of  these  beings  were  to  blame, 
and  that  both  were  suffering  a  degradation  which  per-j 


24:6  D  I N  A II . 

haps  they  didn't  merit.  The  consideration  that  the  old 
man  had  atoned  for  his  remorseful  error  by  a  long  in 
carceration,  and  that  the  girl  had  committed  no  positive 
crime,  probably  raised  this  feeling  of  sympathy,  under 
the  excitement  of  which  he  would  have  even  gone  so 
far  as  to  designate  the  assemblage  as  an  assorted  set 
of  rascals,  if  it  had  not  been  composed  of  his  neighbors. 
A  look  of  gratitude  fell  upon  his  face  from  Dinah's  eyes 
as  she  saw  his  order  being  gradually  obeyed,  especially 
by  the  boys,  to  whom  the  scene  at  best  was  a  sorry 
sight. 

("  She  behaved  very  badly  towards  me  when  I  got 
knocked  out  of  the  wagon,  but  perhaps  she  laughed  in 
joy  at  seeing  that  I  was  safe  and  spared  to  the  com 
munity.)  Clear  out !  "  reiterated  he  to  the  diminishing 
crowd  of  boys. 

"  I  guess  your  father  is  not  in  the  habit  of  doing 
this  thing,  is  he  ?  "  said  one  of  the  villagers  to  Dinah. 
The  apothecary  here  slunk  away. 

"  Oh  no,  sir,"  said  the  girl,  quickly,  "  and — forgive 
him." 

"  Certainly,  of  course.  It's  all  a  mistake,  I  know.  It 
always  is,"  cried  Pithkin,  in  a  temporary  burst  of  en 
thusiasm.  "  He  hasn't  done  any  harm.  You  like  me, 
don't  you  ?  Where  can  you  take  him,  let  me  see  ?  " 

"  I  want  to  be  taken  to  the  graveyard,"  said  the 
old  man,  in  a  low  incoherent  voice,  beginning  to  revive. 
"  Put  me  up  in  the  steeple.  I  can  go  to  bed  in  the 
bell.  "When  Jane  rises  from  her  grave  to  go  to  heaven, 
I'll  grasp  her  clothes,  and  she'll  take  me  along  with 
her !  "  The  old  fellow's  white  hair  was  much  disor 
dered  and  fell  over  his  eyes.  Dinah  decently  brushed 
down  the  thin  locks  one  side  over  his  sunken  temples, 


DINAH. 


and  commenced  to  arrange  his  cravat.  She  had  com 
posed  his  coat  together  as  well  as  she  could. 

"  I  don't  want  him  taken  to  my  house.  Hang  me, 
if  he  shall  be  taken  into  my  house.  What  do  I  want 
drunken  men  in  my  house  for,"  continued  Mr.  Pith- 
kin  ;  "  however,  as  it  is  just  round  the  corner,  you  can 
take  him  in  there.  You  like  me,  don't  you  ?  Let  him 
remain  there.  You  think  I'm  a  friend,  don't  you  ?  A 
good  sleep  will  do  him  good,  and  I  think  when  you  can 
reduce  it  to  a  quiet,  gentlemanly  drunk  in  apartments, 
it  is  not  so  worthy  of  censure  after  all.  It  disturbs  no 
one,  and  has  the  merit  about  it  of  aifording  gratifica 
tion  to  at  least  one  human  being." 

"  She's  a  good  girl  !  she's  a  good  girl  !  "  continued 
the  thick-tongued  old  man,  with  a  wild  eye  and  feeble 
smile,  as  he  tried  to  place  his  trembling  hand  upon  his 
daughter's  head  and  knocked  her  hat  awkwardly  aside. 
"  What  do  they  want  to  throw  blame  on  her  for  ?  " 

"  It  struck  me  as  rather  foolish,"  said  Pithkin,  re 
plying  in  a  natural  manner  to  the  old  man's  question. 
"  However,  nothing  will  come  of  it  if  you  keep  shady, 
and  don't  do  it  again." 

"  I  will  knock  you  down  !  "  said  the  old  man  with 
sudden  ferocity,  as  the  maddening  thought  of  oppres 
sion  and  persecution  of  one  he  loved  floated  across  his 
disordered  brain. 

"  Eh  !  "  cried  Pithkin,  jumping  forward  a  little  in 
a  lively  manner.  "Here's  the  gate  ;  bring  him  right 
in  here.  Carry  him  up  stairs  and  put  him  to  bed,  and 
say  nothing  about  it." 

The  girl,  in  a  few  short  words,  acknowledge^  her 
gratitude  to  Pithkin  and  the  neighbors  who  had  as 
sisted  the  steps  of  the  old  man,  and  she  was  finally  left 


24:8  DINAH. 

alone  in  the  chamber  to  sit  by  the  side  of  her  sleeping 
father,  and  to  commune  in  the  quiet  of  the  room  with 
her  own  thoughts,  as  they  passed  rapidly  and  in  some 
disorder  through  her  mind. 

"  She  has  a  beautiful  eye,"  said  one  of  the  villagers. 
"  Her  face  looked  as  honest  and  beautiful  as  the  days 
are  long,  God  bless  it !  " 

"  However,  you  can't  tell,"  said  another ;  "  you  don't 
know  any  thing  about  these  people  who  have  once  lost 
honor,  you  know." 

"  Pshaw !  if  everybody  was  honest,"  said  Pithkin, 
"  who  was  beautiful,  and  every  one  a  rascal  who  was 
ugly,  they'd  have  you  both  in  jail  in  less  than  ten 
minutes.  You  can't  tell  from  looks.  An  investigation 
of  character,  founded  on  nothing  but  a  thorough  knowl 
edge  of  facts,  is  the  legal  and  the  only  proper  way.  I 
don't  allow  my  mind  to  judge  in  any  other  manner, 
and  I  won't !  " 

When  he  returned  in  an  hour  or  two  to  his  house 
he  found  the  girl  and  her  father,  who  had  not  become 
quite  sober,  and  was  still  confused  and  stupid,  about  to 
leave  the  gate.  She  hesitated  for  a  moment,  and  then 
asked  him,  amidst  an  iteration  of  thanks,  if  he  would 
endeavor  to  palliate  the  occurrence  as  much  as  he  could 
to  her  mistress  and  Charles,  when  he  should  meet 
them. 

"  Certainly,  my  girl,"  replied  he.  "  I'll  do  it  if  I 
remember  it ;  but  I  can't  be  expected  to  remember  all 
of  these  things,  of  course  not ;  and  hang  me  if  I  will !  " 


DINAH.  249 


CIIAPTEB    XXXV. 

THE  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  MOTHER  AND  THE  SOUTHERNERS. 

THE  morning  having  arrived  on  which  Charles's 
mother,  accompanied  by  Colonel  Norcomb  and  his 
wife,  intended  to  depart  for  a  short  sojourn  at  the  wat 
ering-place,  they  took  leave  of  Charles  and  his  aunt, 
who  promised  to  join  them  in  a  few  days  with  Laura 
"Wellwood. 

Among  other  remarks,  in  a  conversation  with  her 
sister-in-law,  the  mother  said :  "  I  think  it  is  better, 
perhaps,  to  dismiss  them  quietly  with  a  sum  of  money, 
as  these  late  events  have  shown  quite  conclusively  that 
they  are  really  unreliable,  and  perhaps  dangerous !  I 
have  appreciated  fully  the  kindness  of  your  nature, 
Adeline,  in  taking  them  into  the  household,  but  I  have 
feared  all  the  while  that  their  modesty,  at  least  of  the 
girl,  was  but  the  cunning  of  an  unscrupulous  nature, 
desirous  of  attaining  a  position  to  serve  the  bad  pur 
poses  which  were  being  formed  in  her  mind.  As 
young  as  she  is,  she  evidently  has  learned  how  to  feign 
a  respect  which  she  doesn't  really  feel,  in  order  to  gain 
favor  ;  and  that  very  humble  consideration  of  her  own 
and  her  father's  position,  which  ought  to  be  the  indica 
tion  of  gratitude,  is,  after  all,  but  an  empty  display, 
made  for  the  artful  purpose  of  exciting  our  compassion 
to  a  still  further  and  undeserved  extent.  It  was  not  at 
all  improper  on  your  part  to  exercise  your  charity  in 
this  unusual  way,  dear  sister,  as  you  wished  not  only 
to  relieve  them  of  their  necessities,  but  to  contribute 
your  mite  to  the  welfare  of  society,  in  elevating  their 
11* 


250  DINAH. 

moral  character.  But  this  case  only  shows,  Adeline, 
how  impossible  it  is  to  transcend  with  satisfaction  the 
common  rules  which  have  been  laid  down  by  society, 
with  regard  to  a  proper  system  of  beneficence  and 
charity  towards  the  erring.  The  sinful,  who  are  suffer 
ing  for  the  necessities  of  life,  have  certainly  a  demand 
upon  us  for  relief;  but  it  is  hazardous  and  uncertain  to 
exercise  our  benevolence  in  a  greater  degree  by  endeav 
oring  to  mitigate  the  moral  penalty  which  the  social 
sense  of  justice  has  affixed  to  their  crimes.  Even  when 
their  heartfelt  repentance  appeals  to  the  sensibilities  of 
society  for  a  restoration  of  their  former  rights,  it  is  of 
doubtful  propriety  ;  for  in  rendering  the  social  pardon 
easy  of  obtainment,  we  but  tempt  the  guilty  to  a  re 
newal  of  his  guilt.  Indeed,  the  rarity  of  the  instances  in 
which  such  a  course  has  succeeded,  and  the  frequency 
of  those  in  which  it  has  failed  from  the  conduct  of  the 
criminal  himself,  would  seem  to  show  that  the  social 
sense  should  be  a  strict  rule  for  the  individual.  To  be 
sure,  in  this  unfortunate  instance,  the  unhappy  old  man 
has  reached  an  age  and  a  state  of  mind  when  the  com 
mission  of  further  crime  may  seem  to  him  fruitless ;  and 
the  bitter  recollection  of  the  past,  of  the  apples  of  Sodom 
that  he  has  gathered,  that  were  ashes  to  his  lips,  may 
be  accompanied  by  a  sincere  repentance.  But  does 
not  this  case  show  how  crime,  withering  and  dying  in 
the  nature  of  the  criminal  himself,  may  have  already 
dropped  an  ineradicable  seed  of  bad  example  in  the 
being  of  others  within  his  influence  ?  " 

"  How  often  and  how  naturally  are  we  accustomed 
to  look  for  an  excess  of  openness  in  youth  ?  But  in  this 
young  girl  a  secretive  disposition  shows  that  her  ten 
dencies  towards  an  unscrupulous  life  are  already  nursed 


DINAH.  251 

and  sheltered  by  her  in  their  dark  growth,  from  the 
withering  effect  of  the  moral  sunshine  without.  I  had 
not  thought  that  Providence  would  have  given  to  any 
one  such  a  clear  perception,  such  a  nice  judgment,  as  the 
girl  appears  to  possess,  without  the  hinge  to  turn  them 
to  bear  upon  her  own  career  ;  for  certainly  she  knows 
not  the  weakness  of  the  career  she  is  upon,  and  the 
bright  faculties  which  she  seems  to  possess  are  but  in 
struments  of  self-injury  to  her." 

The  aunt  was  silent.  She  acknowledged  the  po 
tency,  the  kindness,  even,  of  her  sister's  reasoning,  and 
shared  the  unpleasant  melancholy  which  this  stern  yet 
well-meant  consideration  of  erring  youth  naturally  pro 
duced.  An  account  of  the  father's  intoxication  in  the 
village  had  reached  them,  and  added  its  disagreeable 
weight  to  the  propriety  of  discarding  the  wanderers 
from  virtue,  and  even  the  kind  suggestion  of  the  mother 
to  accompany  their  dismissal  for  charity-sake,  with  a 
sum  of  money,  seemed  at  the  moment  injudicious. 

As  the  group  stood  on  the  steps  of  the  terrace,  await 
ing  the  arrival  of  the  carriages,  the  girl  approached 
from  the  side  of  the  house,  and  with  a  hesitating  bow, 
Avhicli  might  equally  have  characterized  a  timid  syco 
phant  approaching  a  powerful  being,  or  a  truthful  child 
seeking  for  good-will,  presented  to  the  mother  as  a 
token  of  remembrance  on  her  leaving,  a  nosegay  of 
flowers.  The  stern,  bitter  look  of  mingled  regret  and 
censure,  which  her  reflections  had  produced  on  the  lat- 
ter's  brow,  faded  away,  and  gave  place  to  a  softened, 
melancholy  expression  ;  and,  indeed,  in  the  quick  suffu 
sion  of  her  countenance  at  the  time,  something  else  be 
yond  a  melancholy  might  have  been  recognized — a  mo 
mentary  uneasiness,  as  it  were,  and  dissatisfaction  with. 


252  DINAH. 

herself.  She  thanked  her,  however,  with  a  sedate  an 
swer,  and  soon  dismissing  the  subject,  turned  away  to 
attend  to  some  other  matter.  The  girl  noticed  her  re 
turning  coldness.  The  earnest,  furtive  look  for  appro 
bation  quickly  faltered  into  an  appearance  of  stifled 
hope,  and  she  stole  away  as  soon  as  Mrs.  Norcomb  had 
spoken  to  her  some  kind  parting  words.  Could  the 
mother  have  followed  her  lonely  steps  to  her  apart 
ment,  she  would  have  observed  the  young  creature 
upon  her  knees  by  the  bedside.  "Were  those  the  words 
of  some  witch,  fated  to  undergo  a  life  of  human  hopes 
and  fears,  the  success  of  which  should  be  her  purgation, 
begging  relief  from  the  demons  who  tormented  her 
with  half-dis«losing  her  supernatural  relations  to  mor 
tal  ken,  or  were  they  the  outpourings  of  a  pure  and 
truthful  heart,  acknowledging  to  her  friend  and  Maker 
the  weaknesses  and  temptations  of  an  earthly  nature, 
and  begging  for  charity  for  all,  and  for  guidance  in  the 
path  of  goodness  ? 

At  the  depot  the  party  awaited  the  arrival  of  the 
train  in  the  sitting-room,  and  were  enlivened  by  the 
presence  of  the  young  lawyer,  Mr.  Bonney.  The  over 
seer  Baylon,  too,  who  was  loitering  about  the  depot, 
saluted  them  with  an  air  of  great  deference,  and  ap 
proached  to  inform  them  of  the  continued  health  of 
their  neighbor  Rudolph,  whom  he  had  left  in  Kew 
York. 

In  the  course  of  a  short  conversation  which  Charles's 
mother  permitted  him  to  engage  in  with  her,  he  alluded 
to  the  late  occurrence  at  her  mansion,  of  which  he  had 
just  heard,  as  a  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  his  remarks 
with  regard  to  the  girl  Dinah  and  her  father.  Indeed, 
the  antagonism  of  Dinah  was  productive  of  unusual 


DINAH.  253 

acerbity  in  him,  and  he  was  even  led  to  overstep  the 
bounds  of  prudence,  and  go  so  far  as  to  attempt  to  as 
sail,  in  an  ambiguous  manner,  the  chastity  of  the  girl ; 
having  in  his  mind,  "without  doubt,  her  relations  with 
his  master,  whose  name  he  was  fortunate  enough  not 
to  mention.  But  he  almost  overturned  his  machinated 
fabric  of  various  insinuations  by  this  error.  The  lady 
dismissed  him  suddenly  from  her  presence  with  an  in 
dignant  reprehension  ;  for  with  all  the  faults  which  she 
had  seen  in  the  girl's  character,  the  remembrance  of 
her  face,  her  words,  all  her  actions,  gainsaid  the  insin 
uation  without  thought. 

In  the  mean  time  Colonel  Norcomb,  in  a  pleasant 
conversation  with  Nat,  had  endeavored  to  impress 
upon  his  mind  the  belief  that  Charles  had  commenced 
to  be  actuated  by  feelings  of  the  darkest  jealousy  tow 
ards  him. 

"  Gracious  !  you  haven't  been  imprudent,  and  di 
vulged  it  to  him,  have  you  ?  "  said  Nat,  who  had  en 
joined  the  strictest  kind  of  secrecy  in  this  matter.  "  I 
never  saw  such  a  singular  case  as  mine.  I  can't  defy 
my  rival,  because  it  would  reveal  my  passion,  and  it 
would  be  insanity  to  reveal  my  passion,  because  she 
loves  him,  and  she  will  continue  to  love  him  as  long  as 
I  don't  defy  him !  At  any  rate,  he  might  confide  it  to 
the  old  gentleman,  who  would  immediately  confide  his 
daughter  to  a  nunnery  before  he  hears  of  the  exact 
state  of  affairs ;  or,  perhaps,  taking  advantage  of  my 
sunburnt  and  distracted  condition,  have  me  spirited  off 
to  the  South  as  an  able-bodied  but  weak-minded  nigger." 

"  Oh,  no,  I  haven't  said  any  thing,"  replied  the 
Colonel,  who  had  thought  to  encourage  Nat  with  this 
innocent  fabrication ;  "  but  in  the  various  interviews 


254  DINAH. 

you  have  had  with  Miss  Wellwood,  your  manner,  you 
know,  and  hers,  may  have — " 

"  I  don't  see  how  he  can  derive  any  poignance  from 
that.  It  appears  to  me  that  if  she  has  displayed  any 
feeling  towards  me,  it  has  been  simply  an  afflictive  de 
sire  to  drive  me  distracted  on  her  part ;  and  if  any 
reciprocity  has  been  observed  on  mine,  it  has  been 
the  immediate  gratification  thereof.  I  am  conscious 
vshe  loves  me,  Colonel,  but  how  any  one  could  ever  dis 
cover  that  from  her  manner  towards  me,  is  more  than 
I  can  imagine  !  " 

"  Very  true,"  said  the  Southerner,  in  sympathetic 
condolence  at  the  singular  state  of  affairs  in  which  Nat 
was  involved. 

"  But  you  must  keep  it  a  profound  secret,  Colonel. 
I  have  been  rash  at  times,  yet  some  power  watches  over 
mej  which  prevents  her  discovering  my  passion.  There 
is,  no  doubt,  some  providence  in  it !  " 

The  Southerner,  having  promised  him,  here  stepped 
aside  in  the  fulfilment  of  a  pious  duty  of  his  nature. 
Obadiah  had  stooped  upon  the  shaded  platform  with 
his  legs  bent  sidewise,  in  inquisitive  examination  of  the 
direction  of  one  of  the  trunks  which  had  been  placed 
thereon,  when  the  Colonel,  observing  his  position,  and 
unable  to  resist  the  impulses  of  his  antipathy,  kicked 
him  with  such  violence,  that  the  victim  made  a  brief 
but  rapid  excursion  into  the  air,  and  finally  buried  his 
topknot  to  a  considerable  depth  in  the  sand  beneath. 
The  Colonel,  having  thus  relieved  his  feelings,  imme 
diately  renewed  in  placid  serenity  his  walk  with  Nat, 
and  engaged  in  pleasant  conversation  until  the  return 
of  Charles  and  the  ladies,  who  had  driven  down  the 
street  for  a  short  purchase. 


DINAH.  255 

"  He  kicked  me !  "  said  the  aggrieved  Obadiali  to 
Nat,  after  the  train  had  left.  "  He  knows  I  am  non- 
resistant  !  " 

"  Are  you  ?  It  is  gratifying  to  know  that,  as  I  in 
tend  to  kick  you  also,"  replied  the  young  lawyer  who, 
having  been  infected  with  a  general  admiration  of  the 
Southerner's  actions,  on  this  occasion  displayed  the 
same  in  the  nattering  form  of  imitation  by  administer 
ing  another  sincere  kick  to  the  now  thoroughly  aston 
ished  recipient  of  the  first.  The  disgusted  overseer 
walked  off,  but  finally  recovered  his  spirits  and  chuck 
led,  "  I  got  all  the  money  he  gave  the  gal,  anyhow ! 
Three  per  cent,  a  minute !  So  the  proud  lady  is  my 
ally,  is  she  ?  " 


CHAPTER    XXXYI. 

LATTKA    AND    THE    ATTXT. 

LAUKA  and  her  father,  visiting  their  friend  and  pas 
tor  on  the  way,  were  making  gentle  progress  towards 
Pompney  Place  to  dine,  a  few  days  after  the  departure 
of  Charles's  mother  to  the  watering-place.  It  was  a  wet 
day,  and  the  water  of  a  dull  storm,  prolonged  through 
the  morning,  stood  in  puddles  on  the  road.  The 
foliage  of  the  trees  and  the  fowls  hung  in  a  sloppy 
manner,  and  the  subdued  Timothy  and  Thomas  en 
deavored  in  vain  to  lift  their  melancholy  tails. 

"  And  she  told  'em  that  she  wouldn't  marry  him  !  " 
said  Laura's  parent.  This  was  the  thrilling  point  of 
a  long  and  intricate  narrative,  connected  with  the 


256  DINAH. 

younger  days  of  the  pastor  and  Charles's  mother,  and 
he  had  arrived  at  it  with  much  difficulty  and  danger 
to  his  equanimity.  However,  as  it  inculcated  a  moral, 
he  persisted,  although  other  persons  "whom  he  once 
knew  "  presented  their  tales  to  him  in  a  very  distracting 
manner.  "  Yes,  she  told  her  parents  that,"  reiterated 
he,  surrounding  the  fact  with  gloom. 

"  I  say,  she  told  her  parents  that !  "  continued  he, 
in  desperation  at  seeing  no  excitement. 

"  You  said  that  before,"  cried  Laura.  "  Of  course 
she  did,  she  didn't  love  him.  At  least  she  loved  an 
other  !  " 

"  D — ii  it !  This  is  the  result  of  hours  of  careful 
training  !  "  said  the  old  gentleman,  hitting  the  darkey 
in  front  in  an  exasperated  manner,  who  immediately 
communicated  the  shock  to  Timothy  and  Thomas. 
"  She  always  was  a  proud,  wilful  girl,  and  her  conduct 
on  that  occasion  drove  Fuffles  into  metaphysics,  and 
by  that  means  her  parents  into  an  early  grave.  They 
were  obliged  to  listen  to  'em." 

"Why,  Charles's  grandparents  were  -both  over 
seventy  when  they  died.  But  you  meant,"  continued 
she,  putting  her  arms  around  his  neck,  "  they  were  so 
happy  because  their  child  married  the  man  she  loved, 
that  they  arrived  at  that  age  much  sooner  than  they 
otherwise  would  have  done." 

"  ]STo,  I  didn't,  either.  However,  let  us  dismiss  the 
gloomy  subject  from  our  minds.  Here  we  are  at  the 
gate.  That  infernal  Muclgeon !  I  wish  1ST  at  was  here. 
I  have  got  the  greatest  story  to  tell  him  when  I  see  him." 

Charles  and  his  aunt  received  them  on  the  wet  ter 
race,  and  a  few  drops  spattering  on  their  bare  heads, 
they  all  trotted  into  the  hall  together. 


DINAH.  257 

The  aunt  had  received  a  letter  from  her  sister,  and 
Laura  one  from  Mrs.  Norcomb.  The  aunt's  was  filled 
with  love  on  the  part  of  the  mother,  and  many  allu 
sions  to  her  darling  Laura,  which  brought  the  blood  of 
affection  to  the  listening  girl's  heart,  and  suggested  to 
her  mind  a  long  train  of  thoughts  as  good  as  kisses. 
Mrs.  Norcomb's  letter  alluded  in  one  point  to  Dinah, 
and  asked  Laura  still  to  countenance  the  girl  for  her 
sake,  even  if  there  were  imputations  resting  upon  her 
character.  Laura  in  a  short  soliloquy  had  discovered 
to  herself  that  she  would  have  helped  Dinah  for  her 
own  inclination's  sake,  and  she  had  resolved  on  this 
visit  to  say  a  good  word  for  her  to  the  aunt,  who,  since 
the  occurrence,  had  expressed  sentiments  of  distrust 
and  hints  of  dismissal. 

"  Col.  ITorcomb  sends  his  love  to  you,"  observed 
the  young  lady,  as  she  folded  up  the  letter. 

"  And  even  absence  fails  to  dissipate  that  fatal  in 
fatuation  !  "  murmured  the  spinster.  "  Thus  still  he 
lingers  in  wretched,  unrighteous  hope  !  " 

Laura  soon  found  out  that  the  aunt  was  more  preju 
diced  against  the  two  dependants,  than  ever  ;  although 
curious  enough,  while  she  drew  a  complete  character  for 
the  girl  as  she  seemed  to  see  it,  and  referred  in  terms  of 
pity  and  poetry  to  her  ambition,  cunning,  and  unscrupu- 
lousness,  she  still  seemed  now  and  then  to  discover  that 
there  was  another  and  pleasanter  character  for  her  con 
cealed  in  her  bosom  and  apparently  from  herself,  which 
was  the  real  product  of  her  own  eccentric  heart  and  mind. 
"When  her  sister  was  not  thinking  and  feeling  in  her, 
unknown  to  herself,  she  showed  her  own  kind  nature. 
However,  the.  young  lady  herself  felt,  while  combating 
the  charges  which  the  aunt  in  her  possessed  condition 


258  DINAH. 

brought  against  the  young  girl,  that  there  was  some 
thing  wrong  in  the  late  affair,  which  justly  subjected 
the  latter  to  suspicion. 

The  aunt  continued  to  answer  Laura's  inquiries,  and 
stated  that  the  girl  had  been  disposed  since  her  trial  to 
seek  the  solitude  of  her  room.  She  communicated  the 
fact  that  she  had  burst  in  upon  her  on  one  occasion,  and 
observed  her  concealing  by  her  side  a  piece  of  work  upon 
which  she  was  engaged  at  the  window.  Upon  discov 
ering  it  to  be  a  piece  of  embroidery  in  the  form  of  slip 
pers,  she  questioned  her  with  regard  to  them,  and  was 
informed  by  her,  after  some  hesitation,  and  in  a  confi 
dent  way,  that  they  were  for  Mr.  Pithkin. 

"  In  my  surprise  and  astonishment,  would  you  be 
lieve  it,  at  the  answer,  I  was  about  to  precipitate 
myself  upon  her  and  take  a  speedy  vengeance,  such 
was  the  violent  shock  given  to  my  feelings  in  con 
sidering  the  possibility  of  her  having  sinister  inten 
tions,  when  she  frankly  explained  to  me  that  the 
judge  had  kindly  sheltered  her  father  at  the  time  he 
was  overcome  with  wine,  would  you  believe  it,  from 
the  rude  gaze  of  the  populace,  and  that  she  desired  to 
send  him  some  mark  of  her  gratitude,  which  certainly 
discovers  that  she  has  a  high  sense  of  obligation  at  the 
very  least,  although  many  faults  are  visible  in  her 
actions,  of  course.  She  asked  me  if  she  might  present 
him  with  these  slippers,  and,  of  course,  I  not  only  an 
swered  affirmatively,  but  even  became  so  much  inter 
ested  as  to  prescribe  the  form  of  note,  you  know,  which 
she  should  address  to  him  to  accompany  them,  would 
you  believe  it  ;  and  although  I  did  not  at  first  notice 
her  demurring  to  the  idea,  would  you  believe  it,  ('  I 
would,'  said  Laura,  hurriedly,)  of  dispatching  any  note 


DINAH.  259 

at  all,  and  her  suggestion  that  she  should  simply  send 
her  father  with  them,  you  know,  and  ask  him  if  he 
would  accept  them,  you  know,  I  afterwards  was  com 
pelled  to  take  into  consideration  her  singular  perversity 
of  character,  when  she  thought  it  was  a  little  too  much 
to  put  into  the  note  these  words,  '  the  tokens  of  a  deep- 
felt  appreciation  of  the  grandeur  and  might  of  your 
intellect  as  well  as  the  kindness  of  your  heart,'  and 
laughed  at  the  idea,  would  you  believe  it,  although 
she  subsequently  consented,  and  not  only  inserted 
them,  but  also  by  an  ingenious  arrangement,  would 
you  believe  it,  made  such  delicate  allusions  to  me  at 
my  suggestion,  would  you  think,  that  I  should  have 
been  lost  in  admiration  if  I  hadn't  discovered  that,  un 
der  a  feeling  of  poverty,  she  had  made  the  slippers  out 
of  the  cloth  of  an  old  coat  which  she  had  cleaned  up, 
and — " 

The  discourse  of  the  spinster  was  something  in  the 
nature  of  a  waterspout,  of  tremendous  power  of  suction 
from  the  ocean  of  her  thoughts,  but  of  rather  thin  mag 
nitude,  and  easily  destroyed  by  a  simple  shot  of  inter 
ruption.  Squire  Wellwoo'd,  after  wandering  some 
where  with  Charles,  had  entered  the  room.  "  You 
said  a  coat  which  she  had  cleaned,"  remarked  he,  with 
great  quickness  ;  "  that  reminds  me  of  a  singular  inci 
dent,  being  one  which  happened  to  a  friend  of  mine — " 
The  spinster  was  so  thoroughly  overpowered  by  this 
remarkable  connection  of  thought,  that  she  immediately 
forgot  her  own  narrative,  and  asked,  with  a  thrill  of  in 
terest  in  the  hero,  "  "Was  he  married  ?  " 

"  That  is  the  point !  He  broke  both  legs  trying 
to  get  married,  and — " 

"  But  I  am  glad  Dinah  was  discharged,  are  you 


260  DINAH. 

not,  Adeline  ?  "  said  Laura,  working  to  favor  the  girl. 
"  Even  if  she  has  been  guilty,  it  seems  hard  that  she 
should  be  crushed  out  of  a  wish  for  honesty  just  as  she 
commences  life." 

"  Yes,  Nat  was  smart,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  re 
plying  affably,  as  he  now  felt  himself  able  to  proceed 
at  leisure  with  his  narrative.  "  He  is  an  able  bar 
rister." 

Laura  was  sorry  that  Dinah  had  not  been  cleared 
altogether  from  any  imputation.  Besides  that,  some 
body  had  lately  been  overwhelming  her  with  the  most 
terrible  specimens  of  doggerel  at  the  rate  of  about  two 
sonnets  a  day,  and  she  was  inclined  to  believe  that  it 
was  the  young  advocate  who  was  thus  taxing  her  for 
titude  as  a  human  being.  "  No,  he  isn't,"  said  she. 

"  He  is,"  said  the  old  gentleman. 

"  ISTo,  I  deny  it,"  said  she,  warmly. 

"  Aha !  "  said  the  old  maid  to  herself  suddenly. 
She  had  made  a  discovery. 

"  I  say  he  is,"  continued  the  old  gentleman.* 

«  No,  he  isn't." 

"  This  is  filial  gratitude,"  said  the  parent,  slightly 
exasperated.  "  I  say  he  is,"  roared  he. 

"  "Well,  perhaps  he  may  be,"  replied  Laura. 

"  But  I  think  you  ought  not  to  depreciate  the  poor 
fellow  now,  Laura,"  continued  the  spinster.  "  Think 
of  his  being  wounded  the  way  he  has  been  !  " 

"  Wounded  !  Gracious  heaven,  when  ?  "  cried  the 
young  lady,  in  sudden  excitement,  "  oh  where — when 
did  it— "  * 

("  I  am  sure  now.)  I  mean  in  his  feelings,"  replied 
the  aunt  complacently.  "  Do  you  know  he  told  me 
he  felt  quite  severely  cut  up  on  your  having  refused  to 
dance  with  him,  and — " 


DINAH.  261 

"  He  told  you  so,  did  he  ?  And  pray  what  right  has 
the  gentleman  to  call  in  question  my  manner  towards 
him?" 

("  Goodness,  Charles  has  been  too  lax.  He  has 
been  too  secure  and  inattentive.  The  ruse  has  been 
entirely  too  successful  with  him.  Yes,  I'll  change  it. 
I'll  rouse  his  pride.  It  is  the  only  spur  to  men's  indif 
ference,  the  vain  creatures  !  ") 

At  this  point,  a  domestic  bawled  out  in  a  deafening 
manner  that  festal  joy  laughed  in  the  mantling  goblet, 
and  that  the  banquet  awaited  their  presence.  Charles 
now  coming  in,  in  a  slow  and  sedate  manner,  accom 
panied  Laura  to  the  table,  and  soon,  between  the  cease 
less  flow  of  the  aunt's  talk,  ever  contingent  to  the  hour, 
and  the  ceaseless  efforts  of  Laura's  parent  to  make  his 
go  in  the  same  manner,  the  young  people  were  easily 
driven  to  the  verge  of  distraction. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

A   TACIT    CONFESSION    OF   COMPLICITY. 

A  FEW  days  after  Charles's  mother  departed,  Oba- 
diah  Baylon  visited  Pompney  Place,  coming  to  gratify 
his  malice  against  Dinah,  as  likely  enough  his  hate 
was  aroused  to  such  an  extent,  because  she  had  re 
vealed  to  him  a  contemptuous  estimate  of  his  charac 
ter,  and  scorned  his  antagonism  which  seemed  both 
natural  and  purposed.  While  proceeding  upon  the 
avenue  to  the  house,  he  laughed  enough  to  shake  his 
unconfirmed  knee-pans,  when  he  reflected  that  he  had 


262  DINAH. 

an  unconscious  slave  in  the  mistress  of  that  estate,  with 
thousands  at  her  disposal,  the  proud  lady  educated  in 
refinement  and  luxury. 

He  first  encountered  the  retainer  Gluckinson,-  who 
proceeded  to  thrill  him  with  his  exaggerated  romance, 
and  dwelt  particularly  upon  the  latest  form  of  his  hal 
lucination,  in  which'  he  had  imagined  himself  a  fire- 
engine.  "  And  when  there  was  a  fire,"  said  he,  "  the 
cries  of  my  distress  might  be  heard  all  over  the  house, 
they  were  so  piercing."  Before  he  left,  Baylon  pro 
posed  to  further  his  plans  by  wedging  into  the  mind  of 
the  innocent  youth  several  pleasant  insinuations  with 
reference  to  Dinah,  the  least  of  which  were,  that  she 
would  steal  and  was  not  virtuous,  and  the  most  excit 
ing  that  she  hated  him,  and  was  really  the  secret  cause 
of  the  cook's  canker  towards  him.  A  short  contest 
took  place  between  the  ire  of  the  youth  and  his  native 
desire  to  forgive  the  girl,  but  finally  Baylon  was  grati 
fied  to  hear  his  formal  announcement,  that  however 
much  he  had  hitherto  liked  her,  he  should  feel  it  in 
cumbent  upon  him  thereafter  to  hoot  at  her,  and  make 
faces  at  her  father  upon  every  convenient  occasion. 

Baylon  had  requested  a  meeting  with  Charles,  inti 
mating  that  he  wished  to  confer  with  him  upon  the 
difficulty  which  had  taken  place  between  him  and  his 
master.  The  young  man  was  still  agitated  with  con 
tending  emotions  with  regard  to  Dinah,  and  anxious 
to  free  her  from  the  suspicions  which  the  renewed 
memory  of  slighter  events  connected  with  her  and 
her  father  did  not  strengthen,  and  with  further  in 
terest  he  resolved  to  see  this  man,  Baylon,  as  he  re 
flected  that  the  latter  was  somewhat  intimately  ac 
quainted  with  them  in  New  York,  and  knew  enough  of 


DINAH.  263 

tlieir  history,  perhaps,  to  assist  him  materially  in  judg 
ing  of  their  characters ;  although  he  was  well  aware 
that  he  would  have  to  take  into  consideration  the  evil 
tendencies  which  belonged  to  the  nature  of  the  man 
himself. 

Obadiah  was  ingenious  enough,  however,  in  the 
short  but  interesting  interview,  to  conceal  his  antipa 
thy,  and  succeeded  in  strengthening  the  unhappy 
opinion  which  Charles  had  been  gradually  forming  of 
the  girl's  character.  At  first  endeavoring  to  produce 
the  impression  that  she  was  intending  to  take  Rudolph 
as  a  paramour,  he  afterwards  adopted,  with  easy  alac 
rity  and  a  pleased  manner,  the  idea  which  Charles  had 
not  refrained  from  putting  forth,  that  the  person  who 
had  attempted  to  rob  the  house,  was,  in  all  probability, 
the  girl's  lover  as  well  as  accomplice,  and  by  mix 
ing  up  the  two,  confounded  such  an  ugly  though  har 
monized  theory  of  her  conduct,  that  Charles  was  forced 
from  feeling  to  exclaim  against  the  possibility  of  it — 
"  With  that  face  it  can  never  be !  "  But  the  interest 
which  he  took  in  the  matter  had  to  be  satisfied,  and  it 
now  assumed  the  form  of  a  determination  to  do  justice 
in  the  ease.  He  sent  for  the  girl  whom  he  had  scarcely 
once  accosted  since  the  trial,  and  who  in  fact  had 
seemed  desirous  of  keeping  in  quiet  and  solitude  since 
that  event.  She  noticed  with  a  start  the  presence  of 
Baylon  as  she  entered  the  library.  While  on  the  other 
hand,  the  look  of  scorn  which  she  gave  him,  and  then 
quickly  concealed  in  the  confusion  and  distraction  of 
her  manner  which  followed,  seemed  to  want  not  its 
usual  ludicrous  effect  upon  him. 

After  a  few  words  of  preliminary  coldness,  in  which 
he  endeavored  to  convey  to  her  an  idea  of  his  duty  and 


264  DIN  Air. 

his  continued  suspicion,  and  to  hide  his  sympathy, 
Charles  commenced  once  more  to  question  her  in  refer 
ence  to  the  late  occurrence.  Having  again  asked  her 
with  an  indefinite  expectation,  if  she  knew  the  person 
whom  she  drove  out  of  the  library  by  her  alarm,  and 
warned  her  to  tell  the  truth,  he  was  surprised  to  notice 
an  increasing  confusion  in  her  manner,  as  if  her  young 
mind,  though  bright,  was  after  all  inexperienced  enough 
to  be  overwhelmed  by  a  renewal  of  the  examination ; 
and  he  observed  further,  that  she  did  not  even  desire 
the  absence  of  Baylon,  who  was  thus  constituted  a  wit 
ness  to  the  interview,  indicating  a  desperation  of  dis 
traction  with  regard  to  the  consequences  of  disclosure. 
She  commenced  to  murmur  as  if  about  to  make  a 
thorough  confession,  and  there  was  such  increasing 
agitation  in  her  manner,  that  pity  took  its  place  in  his 
bosom,  and  the  old  thought  came  to  him  again,  which 
fancifully  held  her  to  be  one  whom  some  evil  genius 
possessed,  and  whose  evil  commands  she  had  to  obey, 
in  spite  of  a  better  nature. 

But  all  this  quickly  changed.  She  had  started  up 
with  some  energy  and  looked  at  Baylon,  and  as  she 
paused,  a  bitter  smile,  if  not  a  sad  one,  passed  over  her 
face.  The  knowledge  of  his  hate  and  his  inferiority, 
perhaps  had  roused  her,  and  with  her  consciousness  of 
Charles's  prejudices,  made  her  feel  that  her  confession 
would  be  a  foolish  act,  and  at  least  a  triumph  to  him  in 
its  injurious  consequences  to  her.  She  refused  with  an 
obstinate  silence,  which  was  but  a  characteristic  ac 
knowledgment,  to  answer  any  further  questions  which 
were  put  to  her ;  and  the  idea  of  pity  soon  wore  away 
in  Charles's  bosom,  as  the  conviction  of  her  confessed 
complicity  in  this  matter,  of  her  hypocrisy,  ingratitude, 


DINAH.  265 

and  depravity  came  over  him. »  He  now  asked  her  in 
the  manner  of  accusation,  whether  she  had  not  been 
deceiving  him  and  his^mother  since  she  had  been  in 
the  household,  and  abusing  the  care  and  consideration 
which  had  been  shown  her,  with  an  idea  of  playing  a 
part  out  of  keeping  with  her  modest  position.  She 
gave  confession  to  all  his  accusations  by  her  silence, 
and  as  she  thus  stood  apparently  convicted  of  guilt, 
Charles  saw  no  penitence  in  her  passive  manner  and 
bowed  head,  but  the  stubbornness  of  a  hardened  nature. 
Her  trembling  and  pallor  seemed  that  of  fear,  and  her 
compressed  lips  the  signs  of  disappointment  of  evil; 
and  although  young,  and  just  entering  life  as  she  was, 
his  disgust  overcame  his  sympathy,  for  she  seemed  to 
have  been  aware,  and  to  have  tried  to  make  use  of  that 
very  idea. 

A  full  conviction  of  her  depraved  character  had 
come  over  him,  and  as  he  ordered  her  to  leave  him,  it 
was  still  further  strengthened  by  that  which  seemed  to 
him  the  very  hardihood  of  desperation.  N"o  matter 
how  much  she  had  been  sullenly  overcome  by  Charles's 
indications  of  his  estimate  of  her  character,  she  seemed 
determined  that  it  should  not  be  a  matter  of  triumph 
for  Obadiah  ;  for  she  threw  such  a  threatening  look  of 
mingled  anger  and  contempt  at  the  latter,  as  she  with 
drew,  that  his  top-knot  stood  up  straight,  and  he  seem 
ed  more  knock-kneed  than  ever,  in  the  excessive  per 
turbation  which  ensued  therefrom  in  his  nature. 


12 


266  DINAH, 

CHAPTEE    XXXYIII. 


THE   TVOrNDED   HEAET. 


'NAT:  galloped  up  the  carriage-way  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  next  day  to  pay  his  neighborly  respects  to 
Charles's  aunt,  and  while  giving  directions  from  the 
terrace  with  regard  to  his  mare  as  he  had  concluded  to 
stop  and  dine,  commenced  a  pleasant  conversation  with 
the  lady  seated  in  a  window  of  the  sitting-room. 

"  How  is  the  health  of  Justice  Pithkin,"  said  she, 
presently.  "  Oh,  tell  me — tell  me — ah,  what  horrible 
presentiment  now  seizes  me — is  he — is  he  well  ?  " 

"  The  last  time  I  saw  him  he  was  suffering  from 
severe  pains,  and  was  in  an  inflammatory  state." 

"  Ah,"  gasped  the  aunt,  sinking  on  the  sofa — "  Help 
me,  for  I  am  aweary  !  " 

"  Here,  Dinah ! "  cried  out  Nat  to  the  girl  at  the 
far  end  of  the  terrace,  "  tell  William  just  to  give  Kitty 
some  water.  Eh,  what,  you  feel  faint,  Miss  Adeline  ? 
Certainly,  you  can  fetch  a  smelling-bottle  for  Miss 
Adeline,  Dinah,  and  a  bucket  of  Indian  meal  with 
some  oats  in  it,  and  let  her  be  rinsed  off,  Dinah." 

"  Oh,  I  feel  somewhat  better,  Mr.  Bonney,"  mur 
mured  the  spinster  in  a  weak  voice,  as  Nat  suddenly 
recollected  that  the  judge's  pain  had  not  been  very 
severe,  and  that  the  inflammatory  state  of  the  patient 
arose  merely  from  exasperation  at  being  unable  to  tell 
at  any  moment  in  what  part  of  his  system  it  was,  as  it 
appeared  to  be  a  rheumatism  with  a  roving  disposition. 
"  Otherwise  he  was  in  fine  spirits.  We  were  talking 
about  love,  and  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  a  human 


DINAH.  267 

being  should  never  reveal  his  affection  to  his  wife  be 
fore  marriage." 

"  Thus  proofs  of  his  devotion  accumulate !  "  mur 
mured  the  aunt. 

"  I  left  him,  as  he  wished  to  study  the  complaint, 
which  he  had  in  his  hands  at  the  moment." 

"  Heavens  !  did  he  have  it  in  his  hands  ?  " 

"  Yes,  he  had  been  sitting  upon  it  just  before,  you 
know." 

"  Oh  dear  !  " 

"  Eh,  you  understand  me,  I  meant  a  suit,  you  know 
— a  legal  paper." 

The  girl  brought  the  smelling-bottle,  and  then  went 
away  again.  She  had  attired  herself  in  an  old  yellow 
silk  dress,  which  seemed  to  fit  the  cool  temperature  of 
the  day,  and  had  made  herself  as  neat  as  possible  as  if 
this  were  a  kind  of  holiday  for  her  and  her  desperation. 
Charles  met  'her  as  she  was  returning,  and  asked  her 
to  stop  for  a  moment,  while  he  took  a  seat  upon  the 
shaded  terrace.  He  had  come  up  from  the  park  with 
a  book  containing  a  letter  from  his  mother,  and  it  was 
evident  that  he  had  not  so  much  expended  his  time  in 
reading  the  work  perhaps,  as  in  continuing  his  reflections 
concerning  the  girl,  to.  whom  the  letter  referred.  He 
had  certainly  lost  all  confidence  in  her,  and  singular 
indeed  was  the  effect  which  his  disappointment  had 
upon  his  manner  towards  her.  He  seemed  to  take  a 
delight  in  severity,  and  what  was  disgust  or  pity  yes 
terday,  had  become  almost  an  unnatural  anger  to-day. 
With  his  feelings  withered  by  mistrust  born  of  her  ob 
stinate  silence,  his  antipathy  to  the  girl  no  longer  rested 
upon  the  proven  facts  of  her  un scrupulousness  displayed 
in  the  evident  intention  of  assisting  in  the  robbery  of 


268  DINAH. 

her  benefactors,  but  lie  seemed  rather  to  take  pains  to 
entertain  a  still  baser  view  of  her  character,  and  to  feel 
her  presence  under  the  same  roof  with  his  mother  as  a 
womanly  dishonor ;  just  as  boys,  irritated  by  the  poison 
ous  bite  of  an  insect,  like  to  dig  at  the  wound.  Ac 
cording  to  Obadiah,  she  had  quietly  received  the  apol 
ogies  which  Warriston  had  offered  her,  and  had  taken 
him  back  with  many  kind  words,  and  if  any  relation 
existed  between  them,  it  was  for  money  to  share  in 
dishonor  with  her  real  lover.  He  requested  her  to  sit 
down  upon  the  settee,  and  she  immediately  obeyed 
him. 

He  then  told  her  plainly  that  he  had  finally  deter 
mined  to  send  her  away  from  the  household,  and  he 
thought  he  would  now  announce  it  to  her  in  order  to  give 
her  time  to  make  her  necessary  preparations  for  leaving. 
He  then  alluded  to  her  youth,  to  the  folly  of  her  degra 
dation,  and  expressed  the  usual  hope  th&t  she  would 
meet  with  some  one  who  would  have  a  good  influence 
over  her.  Visions  of  retaining  her  in  the  household, 
of  discovering  her  associations,  and  of  endeavoring  to 
exert  such  an  influence  had  come  over  him  heretofore, 
but  the  possibility  of  her  receiving  with  secret  ridicule 
such  an  effect  of  her  hypocrisy  upon  him,  now  filled 
him  with  the  gall  of  utter  carelessness  for  her  welfare. 
As  such  thoughts  as  these  had  passed  through  his  mind, 
he  had  asked  himself  more  than  once  how  it  was  possi 
ble  that  one  who  hardly  seemed  old  enough  to  be  the 
author  or  recipient  of  love  or  passion  should  have  al 
ready  reached  the  horror  of  their  depravation.  He 
alluded  directly  to  her  relations  with  his  neighbor  Ru 
dolph,  "  whose  locket  you  wore  in  your  bosom."  She 
started  up  overwhelmed  with  confusion.  "  The — "  com- 


DINAH.  '269 

menced  she  vehemently,  but  immediately  changed  her 
sentence,  "  Mr.  Warriston  has  paid  me  attentions  which 
must  be  unnoticed  by  me,  and  they  should  be  by 
others.  If  they  are  sincere,  I  can  only  pity  him,"  con 
tinued  she,  bitterly ;  "  if  they  are  not,  let  me  leave  it  to 
others  to  despise  him." 

("  Yes,  it  was  her  lover's  locket,  and  she  is  now 
making  a  show  of  earnest  horror  respecting  Warriston.) 
You  may  do  your  best  with  your  power  over  him," 
continued  he,  for  he  had  got  tired  of  her  hypocrisy. 
"  I  will  not  interfere  with  you,  or  with  any  other  of 
your  plans.  You  may  rest  assured  I  shall  keep  your 
revelations  private,  although  it  is  my  duty  even  for 
your  sake  to  warn  him." 

"  Allow  me  sincerely  to  pity  you,"  said  the  girl, 
proudly. 

Nat,  from  whom  the  aunt  had  excused  herself  ere 
dinner,  after  wandering  on  the  avenue  below  the  ter 
race  looking  at  the  roses,  here  approached  Charles  with 
a  lively  salutation. 

"  Stay,"  said  Charles  to  the  girl,  for  she  was  about 
to  leave,  and  he  drifted  into  the  very  melancholy  pos 
sibility  of  human  nature  for  which  he  had  struck  "War 
riston.  In  spite  of  his  announcement  to  her  that  he 
would  prejudice  no  one  against  her,  he  finally  put 
forth  in  presence  of  the  young  lawyer  as  well  as  to  her 
face,  the  idea  which  he  really  entertained  of  her  re 
lations  with  Eudolph.  It  was  couched  in  the  peculiar 
satiric  form  which  young  men  sometimes  make  use  of 
in  their  masculine  conversation  with  regard  to  women 
they  do  not  respect.  The  insinuation  seemed  to  fall 
upon  the  girl's  ears,  as  she  stood  there  in  trembling 
and  fear,  like  hot  lead. 


270  DINAH. 

"  Oh,  -what  an  indignity  !  "  cried  she,  throwing  up 
her  head,  and  with  heaving  bosom. 

"  I  say,  Charles,"  said  Nat,  astounded  at  this  devia 
tion  from  one  usually  so  courteous,  and  pained  to  ve 
hemence  by  the  stricken  air  of  the  girl.  "  Do  not 
forget  your  respect  for  yourself,  even  if  you  may  have 
none  for  her." 

"  Bah !  let  us  change  the  subject,"  exclaimed 
Charles.  "  It  is  true.  Great  God,  it  is  true !  "  said 
he,  in  secret. 

The  girl  had  fled  from  his  presence  to  the  house  as 
if  overwhelmed  with  the  consciousness  of  dishonor  from 
one  to  whom  she  was  longing,  and  would  have  died  to 
show  her  heart  to. 

On  her  way  to  her  room,  which  she  was  seeking 
with  rapid  steps,  she  was  confronted  by  Gluckinson, 
who,  filled  with  a  consciousness  of  his  wrongs,  pro 
posed  to  convey  to  her  upon  the  spot,  in  a  brief  and 
fervent  manner,  his  idea  of  her  meanness  towards  him, 
as  referred  to  by  Baylon. 

"  I  despise  you !  Obadiah  said  you  as  good  told 
the  cook  that  I  said  that  she  said — but  never  mind,  I 
despise  you,  and  have  scorn  and  contempt  for  you,  and 
shall  so  continue,  although  I  always  thought  you  were 
my  friend.  It's  my  duty." 

"  "What !  James  !  and  you  too  !  "  said  the  girl. 

"  I  can't  help  it.  Baylon  told  me  to  do  it,"  said 
the  innocent  faun. 

"  Don't  you  believe  him,  James,"  replied  the  girl. 
"  He  is  a  bad  and  wicked  man." 

"  I  can't  help  that.  For  what  you  did,  you  maybe 
considered  a  mean — " 

"  James,  look  at  me !  "   said   the  girl,  as  though 


DINAH.  271 

taking  pains  to  erase  the  prejudice  from  the  youth's 
feeble  mind  for  the  sake  of  his  peace  rather  than  hers. 
"  I  would  not  harm  you  for  the  world,  and  I  want  you 
to  let  me  be  your  friend.  If  we  are  only  kind  to  one 
another  we  will  be  happy,  James." 

The  innocent-hearted  youth  had  looked  into  the 
superiority  of  her  face.  He  stood  still  for  a  moment, 
and  then  holding  out  his  hand  began  to  cry.  This 
evidence  of  his  honest  friendship  seemed  to  make  the 
girl  once  more  exult  in  human  nature,  and  she  put  her 
arm  around  his  neck  and  kissed  him  for  the  sake  of  the 
race  perhaps.  Her  act  of  nature  immediately  inspired 
the  youth  with  terrible  feelings  of  belligerence  towards 
various  parties  known  and  unknown,^  and  for  the  first 
time  in  his  life,  probably,  he  felt  real  feelings  of  valor. 

"  I  want  to  hit  somebody !  I'll  hit  everybody — 
Durn  'em ! — As  to  that  ere  Baylon,  I'll  spatter  his 
nose  over  his  face  the  next  time  I  catch  him  !  He  is  a 
scoundrel,  and  I'll  knock  him  upon  the  head  with  a 
stick." 

"  Hush  !  hush  !"  said  Dinah.  "  You  will  be  my 
friend  without  that,  won't  you,  James  ?  " 


CHAPTER   XXXIX 


THE   DISMISSAL. 


THE  next  morning,  before  noon,  his  aunt  having 
been  driven  to  town  by  James,  Charles  called  Dinah 
into  the  library,  in  accordance  with  his  fixed  deter 
mination  to  dismiss  her  and  her  father  from  the  Place. 


272  DINAH. 

It  was,  indeed,  disagreeable  for  him,  for  notwithstand 
ing  the  indifference  which  the  conviction  of  the  girl's 
unworthy  character  produced  in  his  bosom,  her  youth 
ful  appearance,  and  a  certain  constitutional  sadness  of 
her  face,  the  descended  result,  perhaps,  of  the  suffering 
of  her  parents  through  a  long  life  of  shiftlessness,  still 
appealed  to  his  pity.  This  he  speedily  repressed,  how 
ever,  for  in  his  present  state  of  mind  even  pity  seemed 
to  be  the  effect  of  a  kind  of  idiosyncratic  deceit,  which 
belonged  to  the  unfortunate  natures  of  these  people. 
Although  he  was  still  unable  to  fix  his  mind  in  the  be 
lief  that  the  girl  would  betray  the  honor  of  her  sex,  for 
some  unknown  power  of  feeling  seemed  always  to 
rudely  repel  the  thought  as  it  sought  passage  through 
the  chamber  of  his  judgment,  he  had,  nevertheless, 
been  fully  convinced  of  her  deliberate  attempt  to  be 
tray  the  interests  of  those  to  whom  she  should  have 
been  grateful,  to  some  outcast  of  society  who  thus  evi 
dently  had  a  strong  hold  upon  her ;  and  this  was 
enough  to  justify  his  indignant  refusal  to  his  own  in 
clination,  which  asked  the  retention  of  the  girl  under 
the  roof  of  those  with  whom  such  baseness  should  not 
come  in  contact. 

The  girl's  father,  through  all  the  past  difficulties 
into  which  he  had  been  plunged  with  his  child,  pre 
served  a  stupid  kind  of  silence ;  although,  in  spite  of 
the  oblivion  of  second  childhood,  now  fast  gathering 
over  his  spirit,  he  would  have  been  able  to  have  com 
municated  the  secret  connected  with  the  late  actions  of 
his  daughter  if  he  had  known  it,  or  was  not  under _the 
careful  surveillance  of  her  obstinacy.  She  certainly 
had  not  been  able  to  conceal  from  him  up  to  this  mo 
ment  the  bitter  results  of  her  accusatory  silence  ;  but  in 


DINAH.  273 

reference  to  their  coming  departure  from  the  Place, 
she  now  went  so  far  in  her  desire  to  conceal  its  charac 
ter  from  him,  as  to  beg  from  Charles  a  command  that 
he  be  kept  in  ignorance  of  it,  and  alluded  with  some 
appearance  of  sorrow,  whether  natural  or  artful,  to  her 
desire  to  keep  his  old  age  from  grief.  Charles  respected 
her  filial  love,  even  if  it  were  but  appearance.  He 
saw  that  the  old  man.  seemed  to  have  had  enough  of 
trouble  in  his  stronger  years  to  produce  purification, 
and  he  readily  granted  her  desire. 

She  had  evidently  prepared  the  mind  of  the  old 
man  for  the  change,  as  he  waited  with  a  cheerful  air 
outside  of  the  house,  while  she  stepped  in  to  see  her 
master,  and  receive  from  his  hand  her  final  quittance. 
The  dog,  which  she  some  time  before  had  picked  up  on 
the  road  in  the  critical  sickness  of  distemper,  and  built 
up  into  a 'sprightly  friend,  drew  the  exhilarating  con 
clusion  from  the  little  bundles  which  she  and  her  father 
brought  with  them  from  their  rooms,  that  an  excursion 
of  unusual  prolongation  was  on  foot ;  and  no  doubt 
visions  of  canine  dissipation  in  the  way  of  pleasant 
scampers  through  the  woods  or  along  the  highways, 
and  of  rencounters  with  foreign  dogs  whom  he  could 
venture  to  growl  at,  being  under  protection,  floated 
across  his  limited  mind.  The  old  man  by  a  short  com 
mand  repressed  the  ardor  of  the  animal's  agility,  and 
then  seated  himself  upon  the  iron  settee  and  awaited 
the  coming  of  his  daughter  from  the  house. 

The  girl  bore  about  her,  as  she  entered  the  room 
for  the  last  time,  a  certain  air  of  submission  and  resigna 
tion,  as  if  to  what  even  a  frank  confession  could  not,  per 
haps,  have  helped  ;  and  if  there  was  the  pride  of  stub 
born  desperation  in  her  manner,  it  was  visible  only  in 


274  DINAH. 

the  exaltation  of  her  natural  grace  into  dignity.  Charles 
was  reflecting  upon  the  unfailing  correctness  with 
which  society  places  its  seal  upon  the  character,  when 
she  entered  ;  but  her  appearance  warped  so  far  the  de 
cisions  which  he  had  been  brought  to  by  his  natural 
antipathy  to  depravity,  that  the  first  glance  he  cast  at 
'her  conveyed  once  more  the  unconsciously  expressed 
hope  for  her  own  sake  that  she  might  now  voluntarily 
make  a  frank  avowal  of  her  evil  inclinations. 

But  the  indefinite  intentions  which  floated  in  his 
mind  of  causing  her  to  be  placed  in  the  charge  of  some 
society  of  reformation  or  under  other  good  influences, 
were  now  wholly  dissipated  by  her  persistent  silence. 
She  no  doubt  divined  his  thoughts,  and  may  have  been 
rejecting  them  in  secret  scorn,  and  perhaps  ridicule. 
At  any  rate,  whatever  emotions  she  experienced  were 
now  concealed  under  a  manner  which  bore  the  appear 
ance  of  carelessness  at  the  result  of  the  interview,  and  a 
restless,  feverish  desire  to  abbreviate  it.  However,  she 
made  to  him  a  respectful  bow,  which  he  barely  noticed, 
as  it  was  at  the  critical  moment  of  his  emotion  at  the 
proven  want  of  principle  in  her  youthful  nature.  Here 
had  she  been — but  he  would  not  reiterate  then  the  con 
demning  facts  connected  with  her  unfortunate  stay  in 
the  house  and  neighborhood.  He  had  seen  enough  to 
know  that  the  interest  which  she  had  excited  in  him  she 
no  doubt  had  laughed  in  her  sleeve  at,  and  had  in 
tended  to  make  use  of  as  soon  as  she  or  her  accomplice 
saw  fit.  His  conviction  was  now  firm  that  the  sooner 
he  discharged  her  from  the  household,  the  better  it 
would  be  for  society  and  individuals. 

As  she  had  friends  in  those  with  whom  she  was 
leagued,  neither  she  nor  her  father  would  suffer  from 


DINAH. 


physical  wants,  wherever  they  might  wander  ;  and  fur 
thermore,  he  intended  to  blindly  give  her  a  sum  of 
money  without  considering  the  use  she  might  put  it  to. 

It  was  not  unmitigated  anger,  perhaps,  which  now 
possessed  him;  but  that  natural  courteousness  of  de 
meanor  and  pleasant  smile,  which  would  have  indicated 
in  the  olden  time  that  he  belonged  to  the  right-wor 
shipful  order  of  knights  and  armigers  of  the  heart,  were 
now  gone  from  him,  and  the  absence  of  his  grand  air 
clearly  indicated  that  he  entertained  no  pleasant  feeling 
towards  her,  and  that  his  desire  for  her  speedy  dismissal 
from  the  Place  was  earnest.  Indeed,  as  he  held  out 
some  bills  towards  her,  he  was  induced,  by  the  violence 
of  his  irritation,  to  intimate  without  hesitation  his  dis 
gust  at  her  depravation,  his  own  leniency  with  regard 
to  it  in  consideration  of  her  youth  and  sex,  and  his  de 
sire  that  she  should  not  think  of  returning  thither  again. 

At  this  outburst  of  a  mixture  of  numerous  emotions, 
from  which  that  of  pity  was  certainly  absent,  the 
manner  of  the  girl  changed.  Besides  the  restless  indi 
cations  of  coming  gladness  at  the  opportunity  of  leaving 
the  room,  a  loftier  impatience,  a  noble  weariness  of  the 
persecution  to  which  her  human  destiny  subjected  her, 
seemed  to  be  manifested  in  her  countenance.  She 
laughed  in  a  dull  way,  and  as  she  held  out  her  hand 
mechanically  to  take  the  money  from  his,  she  stood  for 
a  moment  thereafter  in  the  same  position,  as  if  lost  in 
temporary  confusion.  She  turned,  however,  from  him, 
for  she  saw  the  interview  was  over,  and  almost  ran  as 
she  left  the  apartment. 

There  was  not  a  person  of  the  household  to  be  seen 
outside  ;  and  indeed,  for  the  past  few  days,  the  domes 
tics  had  generally  appeared  to  shun  her.  Her  father 


276  DINAH. 

and  she  then  took  up  their  bundles,  which  were  small, 
as  they  had  few  habiliments,  and  their  other  worldly 
possessions  had  been  left  in  care  of  the  negro  to  whom 
they  were  now  going.  The  dog  gave  a  bark,  and  gam 
bolled  around  them.  Dinah  took  her  father's  hand ; 
and  thus  arranged,  the  three  friends  started  away,  and 
gradually  disappeared  amid  the  trees  surrounding  the 
noble  old  mansion.  God  looked  down  in  pride  upon 
his  three  creatures  as  they  pursued  their  way,  and  sanc 
tified  the  pure  joy  of  the  old  man  and  the  humble  fol 
lower,  and  the  secret  tears  of  the  child. 


CHAPTER    XL. 

UNEXPECTED     INCIDENTS. 

THE  young  man  felt  restless.  An  uneasy  feeling 
not  only  pervaded  his  bosom,  but  it  seemed  to  have  an 
influence  over  his  intellect.  The  old  feeling  of  satiety 
or  of  distrust  which  he  had  so  often  experienced,  now 
came  back  to  him  in  fuller  force  than  ever,  because  the 
agent  by  which  it  had  been  temporarily  dislodged 
from  his  being  was  now  a  proved  piece  of  hypocrisy. 
How  that  one  so  young,  one  so  bright,  should  be  such, 
he  laid  to  the  faulty  arrangement  of  society,  for  he 
scouted  the  idea  that  she  could  be  so  by  nature,  when 
ever  he  recollected  her  face  or  manner.  The  events 
connected  with  this  girl  which  his  memory  dwelt  upon, 
seemed  to  him  to  have  taken  possession  of  that  faculty 
as  chief  matters  of  consideration  ;  and,  indeed,  with  her 


DI.NAII,  277 

youthful  countenance  and  figure  his  imagination  made 
easy  pictures  of  the  virtuous  possibilities  of  human 
nature,  and  singular  enough  to  him  was  the  utter  re 
fusal  of  the  latter  faculty  to  harmonize  with  the  former, 
and  attach  to  his  consideration  of  this  girl  any  vice,  or 
even  any  characteristic  which  was  not  in  its  nature 
honorable  and  virtuous.  But  memory  carries  the  day 
when  such  an  extraordinary  conflict  takes  place  be 
tween  the  two  faculties  of  the  mind,  although  she  is  in 
fault,  and  has  treasured  up  weak  facts  and  slighted  strong 
pointers  to  the  truth. 

Impelled  by  the  desire  to  seek  an  oracle,  Charles 
sought  again  the  depths  of  the  woods,  and  wandering 
on  in  abstraction,  for  the  breezes  were  stirring  enough 
to  render-  his  physical  exertions  unheeded  by  him,  he 
soon  reached,  by  ascending  paths  through  rising  groves, 
the  platform  rock  overhanging  a  deep  gorge  in  the 
mountains  looking  down  even  upon  the  tops  of  some 
of  the  pines  growing  on  the  ragged  sides,  where  it  was 
said  the  devotional  Indian,  in  times  gone  by,  was  wont 
to  stand  at  the 'hour  of  the  setting  sun  in  communion 
with  his  Maker.  Away  beneath  this  dizzy  height  a 
brook  brawled  loudly,  but  the  clamor  became  a  mur 
mur  ere  it  ascended  thus  high.  The  crumbs  of  some 
pleasure  party  from  the  neighborhood  who  had  lately 
sought  this  place,  or  maybe  of  some  hunter  resting 
from  his  venation  to  share  his  lunch  with  his  dog,  still 
were  strewed  about,  and  on  the  trees  were  cut  in  rude 
or  fanciful  letters,  rude  or  fanciful  verses,  commemora 
tive  of  the  visit  of  some  individual,  the  fact  of  whose 
presence  had,  in  his  own  idea,  conferred  additional  in 
terest  on  the  locality.  The  footpath  by  which  Charles 
had  ascended  proceeded  on  the  other  side,  and  gradually 


278  DIN  All. 

wound  down  the  precipice  witli  now  and  then  abrupt 
turns  or  breaks,  to  where  a  rustic  bridge  crossed  the 
river.  A  part  of  this  rude  structure  might  be  seen 
with  danger  from,  the  rock  through  the  branches  and 
foliage,  and  now  and  then  the  black  flood  with  its 
white  foaming  borders  as  it  sped  along.  But  above, 
the  loftiest  growth  of  trees  almost  shut  out  the  heavens, 
and  thus  in  this  twilight  of  the  embowered  noon-day 
Charles  reclined  himself  at  length,  and  holding  his 
head  upon  a  bent  arm  pursued  a  train  of  reflections. 
He  had  not  been  in  this  philosophical  position  but  a 
short  period  of  time,  when  he  was  aroused  by  the  noise 
of  some  one  approaching  along  the  dark  avenue  of  the 
wooded  table  by  which  he  came.  The  young  man 
Rudolph  appeared,  brushing  with  irregular  steps  and 
heated  frame,  and  broke  into  the  open  space  whose 
floor  was  the  rock. 

"  Thank  God  !  I  have  met  you !  You  laid  your 
hands  upon  me,"  cried  he,  quickly,  "  and  dishonored 
the  rightful  demands  which  I  repeatedly  made  upon 
you  to  give  me  satisfaction."  The  latter  word  appeared 
to  trip  slightly  on  his  tongue  as  "  Sa'sfaction,"  and 
Charles  immediately  concluded  that  his  applications  to 
his  flask  had  been  in  an  inverse  ratio  to  the  successes 
of  the  hunting  tour,  which  the  gun  in  his  possession  in 
dicated  he  had  been  engaged  in. 

As  soon  as  the  deception  of  the  young  girl  had  been 
made  apparent  to  him,  he  had  felt,  in  reflecting  upon 
his  relations  with  this  antipathetic  young  man  and 
those  of  the  girl  with  him,  that  he  himself  had  been  in 
a  measure  wrong,  and  the  young  man  right.  In  the 
irritation  which  the  fact  of  the  girl's  unworthiness  pro 
duced  in  his  mind,  he  remembered  that  the  very  mean- 


DINAH.  279 

ness  which  he  had  intended  to  punish  in  this  young 
man,  he  had  committed  himself;  and  while  he  had  been 
half  inclined  to  pardon  himself  for  it,  he  had  wholly 
resolved,  on  Rudolph's  return,  to  change  his  course 
towards  him,  by  offering  an  ample  apology.  Although 
his  neighbor  was  scarcely  in  a  condition  to  appreciate 
his  intentions  at  this  time,  he  nevertheless  was  about 
to  utter  a  deprecation  of  his  own  past  conduct,  in 
which  to  a  certain  degree  his  disappointment  in  the 
girl's  character  had  mixed  up  in  spite  of  himself  a 
natural  want  of  respect  for  it,  when  the  apology 
cleaved  to  his  mouth  and  broke  in  two,  as  if  it  had 
been  struck  by  the  angry  power  of  some  unseen  and 
jealous  being  ere  it  was  all  uttered.  In  the  confusion 
of  thought  he  felt  a  comparison  between  "VVarriston  and 
the  young  girl,  and  the  superiority  of  her  character,  in 
spite  of  its  faults,  over  his.  They  had  both  maligned 
her  by  throwing  an  accusing  insult  in  her  young  face, 
and  he  was  now  about  adding  to  his  own  meanness  an 
agreeable  understanding  with  this  depraved  young  man 
in  reference  to  her  past  career,  by  a  careless  satiric  pre 
diction  with  regard  to  her  future.  The  reaction  of  feel 
ing  was  as  great  towards  VVarriston  as  it  was  towards 
himself,  and  while  he  felt  a  self-shame,  his  former  dis 
gust  for  his  neighbor  returned. 

"  I've  followed  you.  I  saw  you  come  up  here,  and 
I'm  going  to  have  s'faction,"  said  the  latter  at  this 
point.  Amid  the  ridiculous  indications  of  his  inebria 
tion,  there  suddenly  appeared  something  of  a  sullen 
coolness,  of  the  stupid  determination  which  looks  for 
the  reparation  of  wounded  honor  by  blood  rather  than 
apology. 

"  Pshaw  !  Go  away.     I  don't  desire  to  have  any  re- 


280  DINAH. 

lations  with  you  at  all,"  said  Charles,  in  careless  anger, 
as  he  took  hold  of  a  limb  and  rested  against  it.  He 
saw  the  other  wildly  raise  his  gun.  He  succeeded  in 
diverting  its  aim  from  his  own  breast  by  a  speedy  spring 
and  grasp,  when  it  was  discharged.  The  chief  weapon 
which  he  had  conceived  he  would  have  to  contend  with 
was  the  tongue  of  his  antagonist. 

"  Villain  !  "  gasped  the  astonished  young  man, 
"  would  you  commit  murder  ? "  In  his  surprise  and 
the  consciousness  of  his  escape,  he  stood  rooted  for  a 
moment  with  the  barrel  of  the  gun  retained  in  his 
grasp.  The  would-be  assassin  for  honor  jerked  the 
weapon  away  in  the  continuation  of  his  fury,  and  stag 
gered  backwards,  as  Charles  easily  relinquished  it. 
The  continued  surprise  of  the  latter,  however,  was  now 
dissipated,  for  he  sprang  forwards  towards  his  antago 
nist.  Yet  it  was  not  in  anger,  but  with  the  instinct 
which,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  is  more  deeply  implanted 
in  human  nature.  Warriston  had  fallen  backwards 
with  a  shriek  upon  the  edge  of  the  dizzy  height ;  in  his 
effort  to  recover  himself,  the  gun  was  thrown  violently 
into  the  air.  It  fell  against  a  projecting  ledge  forty 
feet  below,  the  stock  parted  from  the  barrel  and  lodged 
in  the  thick  branches  of  a  tree,  and  the  latter  continued 
its  jumping,  ringing  career  to  the  very  bottom  of  the 
cliff.  But  the  fortune  of  the  drunken  man  had  not  yet 
deserted  its  owner.  The  cliff,  at  the  point  where  he 
fell,  grew  in  projection  as  it  descended  for  some  way. 
At  a  short  distance  below,  a  clump  of  young  firs  were 
growing  in  brave  and  hardy  vigor  from  a  fissure  therein, 
and  outside  of  these  the  thick  trunk  of  a  majestic  tree 
passed  from  below  and  shot  into  the  air  above  the  plat 
form,  while  projecting  its  branches  irregularly  into  the 


DINAH.  281 

cliff's  side.  He  rolled  down  the  rough  pyramidal  face, 
and  struck  against  one  of  the  young  trees.  "With  the 
blind  quickness  of  self-preservation — for  that  instinct 
was  sobered  into  energy — he  grasped  a  bough  and 
swung  himself  around  with  a  violent  shock  against  the 
rocks,  which  still  shelved  out  in  the  descent  for  some 
way  beneath.  Finding  a  small  footing  to  rest  his  feet, 
he  clung  to  the  rough  side  like  a  storm-beaten  bird,  and 
in  dizzy  terror.  Had  he  then,  in  his  drunkenness,  re 
laxed  his  grasp,  no  impediment,  successfully  powerful, 
would  have  been  offered  to  a  crushed  and  mangled 
body  speeding  and  bounding  until  it  reached  the  rocks 
of  the  brook-side  below.  His  arms  were  bent  to  bring 
the  centre  of  his  body's  gravity  over  the  rock,  and  with 
muscles  trembling  with  their  rigidity,  and  appalled 
face  pressed  against  the  cliff,  he  uttered  a  cry  of  ago 
nized  desire  for  help. 

•"  Put  your  teeth  through  your  lip  ere  you  let  go !  " 
cried  Charles.  With  a  momentary  survey — for  mo 
ments  were  precious — he  swung  himself  from  the  plat 
form  by  a  vigorous  branch  of  the  old  tree.  It  bent 
down  towards  the  trunk  and  came  in  rustling  contact 
with  others,  but  his  reliance  in  its  green  hardihood  was 
well-placed.  It  bravely  bore  his  weight,  and  his  feet 
found  a  resting-place  upon  a  stronger  and  almost  im 
movable  bough,  which  he  had  observed  from  above 
projected  towards  the  temporary  eyrie  of  his  neighbor. 
Along  this  he  moved  not  with  a  squirrel's  carelessness, 
and  guarding  his  equilibrium  by  a  manual  reliance  on 
the  branches  above.  It  was  a  ticklish  affair,  but  he 
could  not  pause.  Suffice  it  to  say  he  saved  him  with 
a  swaying  risk.  "  Eockaby  baby  upon  the  tree  top  !  " 
"With  the  strong  grasp  of  health,  he  drew  him  into  his 


282  DINAH. 

leafy  fort  by  the  collar,  and  with  an.  irritated  laugh 
asked  him  if  he  should  not  drop  him. 

"  The  next  time  you  wish  to  commit  murder,  try  it 
on  the  highway,  and  not  in  such  an  unsuitable  place 
as  this  ; — in  some  spot  where  you  can  roll  on  the  ground 
in  your  rage,  if  you  do  not  succeed,  without  danger  to 
yourself." 

"  5Tou  have  saved  my  life,"  said  the  other,  with  a 
refreshing  air  of  interested  gossipry. 

"  Pshaw ! '  if  you  had  rolled  over  again,  it  would 
have  been  to  fall  against  that  limb  down  there,  only 
about  a  foot  or  two  lower.  It  is  in  case  you  had  not 
concluded  to  stop  there,  I  should  have  been  tried  for 
murder,  perhaps." 

At  this  remark,  Rudolph  turned  his  confused  and 
bewildered  vision  down  beneath  the  branch  upon  which 
they  were  standing,  and  quickly  grasped  more  firmly 
the  bough  which  he  held.  Away  beneath,  the  trunk  of 
the  tree  in  branchless  solitude  shot  up  for  a  space  of 
fifty  feet,  and  with  a  diameter  of  corresponding  dimen 
sion. 

"  Happy,  happy  pair !  "  said  Charles.  "  I  don't 
know  how  to  get  out  of  this  myself ; "  and  he  looked 
around  again  to  comprehend  the  ludicrous  position  in 
which  they  were  placed,  up  an  apparently  inaccessible 
tree,  engaged  in  soft  converse. 

"  Ah  !  I  see.  There's  a  wide  ledge  and  more 
branches,  and  we  can  get  out  upon  that  path.  Why, 
the  very  cows  are  accustomed  to  go  up  and  down  this 
place !  " 

They  did  finally  reach  the  ledge  and  path,  though 
not  without  much  difficulty  and  many  shortcomings  of 
courage  on  the  part  of  the  rescued  individual,  whose 


DINAH.  283 

nerves  were  quite  unstrung  by  his  late  adventure.  By 
the  time  they  had  reached  the  bridge,  scarcely  a  trace 
of  his  drunkenness  was  left,  save  perhaps  an  inflamed 
vision,  and  he  there  attempted  in  confused,  ill-muttered 
exculpation  to  state  to  Charles  that  his  intention  was 
to  force  him  to  make  an  apology  or  grant  a  place  of 
meeting ;  that  his  anger  being  aroused  by  his  sneering 
manner,  he  knew  not  what  he  did,  and  he  loved  the 
girl,  and — she  drove  him  wild. 

"  Bah  !  take  your  girl !  "What  means  your  folly 
in  mixing  me  up  with  her !  You  are  going  one  way 
and  I  will  go  another — I  wish  to  be  left  alone. 
You  owe  me  nothing,  and  need  never  allude  to  this 
occasion  in  any  way,  for  you  may  rest  assured  I  will 
not." 

The  unfortunate-tempered  young  man  now  knew 
enough  to  leave,  but  before  he  went  he  turned  around 
and  surprised  Charles  by  acknowledging  to  him  frankly, 
yet  in  a  hurried  way,  his  consciousness  of  the  wrong 
he  had  done  the  girl,  which  at  the  picnic  had  provoked 
the  insult. 


CHAPTER    XLI. 


THE    NEGRO    COTTAGE. 


AT  a  considerable  distance  away  from  Pompney 
Place,  and  at  the  entrance  of  some  still,  dark  woods  where 
the  trees  commenced  wholly  to  overhang  the  winding 
road,  stood  an  old  house  which  had  never  been  painted 
and  which  was  black  enough  to  appear  criminal ;  yet, 


284:  DINAH. 

from  the  air  of  neatness  about,  it  seemed  after  all  but 
the  useful  monument  of  somebody's  honest  poverty. 
Here  lived  the  negroes,  who  being  of  no  consequence 
to  anybody,  and  in  a  measure  proscribed  on  account  of 
their  color  from  familiar  intercourse  with  the  villagers, 
had  perhaps  received  the  friendship  of  the  girl  Dinah 
and  her  father  with  even  a  dash  of  homage.  Aged 
oaks  and  firs  grew  around  this  melancholy  abode,  and 
oft  in  the  stillness  of  the  night  the  cries  of  the  owl 
might  be  heard  in  them  or  the  neighboring  woods, 
dully  celebrating  his  horrid  sacrifices,  or  lamenting  the 
hour  when  he  told  of  Proserpine's  eating  the  pomegran 
ates  in  the  gardens  of  hell. 

At  sunset,  underneath  a  spreading  tree  on  a  little 
piece  of  greensward  growing  between  the  road  and  the 
front  of  the  house,  the  young  girl  stood  in  a  still  attitude, 
with  her  sedate  face  turned  towards  the  departing  god 
of  day.  Her  clear,  undazzled  gaze  was  bent  full  into 
his  yet  brilliant  splendors,  and  the  purple  was  in  her 
hair  like  that  of  N"isus  of  old.  There  was  a  natural  oc- 
cultness  and  silent  reserve  in  this  young  girl,  and 
though  that  which  nature  had  given  her  to  rely  upon 
may  never  have  been  told  to  herself,  the  expression  of 
her  countenance  now  gave  tokens  of  the  inspiration 
within. 

Apart,  on  a  small  bench  at  the  foot  of  the  spread 
ing  tree,  sat  her  aged  father.  His  head  was  bowed 
in  pious  resignation  to  the  troubles  which  the  filial 
love  of  his  child  could  no  longer  conceal  from  him. 
The  mother  of  the  negro  family  sat  knitting  on  her 
flag-seated  chair  at  the  door,  and  awaiting  the  ar 
rival  of  her  son  and  daughter  from  their  lowly  service 
in  the  village.  The  cricket  under  the  door-stone  and 


DINAII.  285 

the  katy-did  in  the  tree,  were  singing  their  unmeasured 
songs,  and  the  dog  stretched  at  length  was  watching 
with  pouncing  intentions  the  periodical  jumps  upon 
the  grass  of  the  ball  of  yarn,  caused  by  the  old  lady's 
vigorous  prosecution  of  her  work. 

The  sublimity  of  the  sun  had  quite  disappeared  from 
the  heavens  leaving  its  beauty,  when  the  girl  turned 
from  her  motionless,  abstract  position,  and  sought  with 
dreamy  steps  the  side  of  her  parent  upon  the  bench. 
There,  in  the  silent  sympathy  of  a  common  cause,  the 
two  no  doubt  thought  of  their  loneliness  in  the  world 
and  estrangement  from  their  race,  and  the  stern  neces 
sities  of  the  sterling  poverty  which  had  been  awarded 
them.  "With  a  brighter  and  more  hopeful  air,  the  child 
soon  came  to  dream  of  the  pleasures  of  the  imagination 
which  had  to  fill  the  place  of  real  ones  in  her  young 
heart,  for  with  a  brave  sigh  of  encouragement  to  her 
self,  she  began  to  utter  the  pleasant  humor  of  her  fancy 
and  cheer  her  father  with  its  idle  conceits.  Thus  she 
crossed  the  desultory,  shambling,  saltatory  waves  of  the 
restless  sea  ;  and  then  she  thought  of  the  East  and  the 
old  countries,  with  their  holiday  divertisements  of  rig- 
adoons,  sarabands,  and  boleros,  and  the  light  thrum  of 
the  tambourine  marking  the  time  for  the  dancers.  The 
father  felt  the  return  for  the  education  which  he  had 
struggled  through  all  his  shiftlessness  and  degradation  to 
give  his  child,  and  while  she  continued  to  throw  the  sun 
beams  of  her  fancy  upon  his  spirit,  secretly  lifted  his 
heart  in  praise  to  God  for  this  gift  to  his  declining  days. 

Soon  they  raised  their  united  voices  in  vespers,  and 
as  the  final  noise  of  the  sacred  psaltery  died  away  upon 
the  air.  the  shades  of  night  had  gathered  around  the 
humble  dwelling,  and  the  father  and  child  walked  away 


286  DINAH. 

from  the  cool  breeze  into  the  house.  There  they  planned 
together  their  future,  and  studied  to  husband  their 
scanty  store. 


CHAPTEE    XLII. 

HEYDAY     IX    THE     BLOOD. 

CHAELES  and  Laura  were  seated  together  in  the 
parlor  of  Pompney.  They  had  been  following  each 
other  about  the  house  all  the  morning  in  a  most  sin 
gular  way,  and  such  was  the  remarkable  infatuation 
with  which  they  continued  to  stick  together,  and  the 
unusual  and  eccentric  energy  with  which  they  had  en 
deavored  to  convey  to  each  other  their  sentiments  of 
affection,  that  it  was  quite  evident  they  had  both  been 
lately  stricken  with  a  motive  power  quite  new  to  their 
bosoms,  and  by  some  extraordinary  coincidence  of  a 
similar  nature  in  each.  A  certain  ferocious  and  para 
doxical  consciousness  of  the  magnitude  of  the  labor  in 
which  they  were  engaged,  and  a  subtle  determination 
to  triumph,  quite  unnatural  to  the  simple  ardor  of  re 
ciprocated  love,  had  suddenly  appeared  in  the  manner 
of  each,  while  such  was  the  devotedness  of  both  to  their 
own  hallucinations  that  neither  had  observed  these  in 
dications  in  the  other.  There  was  thus  the  wild  glare 
of  a  temporary  frenzy  visible  in  the  eyes  of  both,  indi 
cating  an  insane  desire  to  occupy  every  moment  until 
consummation  in  conveying  exaggerated  sentiments  of 
the  most  inflammable  nature  to  each  other  ;  while 
from  the  same  cause,  without  doubt,  most  of  the  re- 


DINAH.  287 

marks  which,  had  been  made,  had  been  followed  either 
by  confused  explanations  to  that  effect,  or  by  frequent 
attempts  on  the  part  of  the  utterer  to  withdraw  for  a 
short  period  from  the  other's  presence,  to  meditate 
upon  the  exact  effect  which  they  had  produced,  and  to 
prepare  others  of  a  similar  nature. 

But  the  most  remarkable  part  of  the  matter  was, 
that  this  fever  suddenly  passed  oft",  leaving  as  a  sole  re 
sult  the  singular  and  apparently  unrelated  conclusion 
on  the  part  of  the  young  lady  that  the  advocate,  ISTat 
Bonney,  was  a  fool,  and  upon  the  part  of  Charles,  in 
a  secret  circumlocution,  that  his  aunt  was  another. 

During  the  progress  of  the  soft  delirium,  and  at  a 
moment  when  Charles  was  about  to  take  the  hand  of 
the  unresisting  girl  seated  by  his  side  upon  a  sofa,  a 
scuffling  noise  of  feet  was  heard  on  the  marble  floor  of 
the  hall  outside,  and  the  singularly  inopportune  Gluck- 
inson  rushed  violently  into  the  room,  and  passing  the 
astonished  pair  under  the  influence  of  a  resistless  mo 
mentum,  described  part  of  an  ellipsis  around  the  cen 
tre-table,  and  brought  up  directly  opposite  them  with 
a  confused  countenance  and  other  symptoms  of  panic. 

"  What  do  you  want  here,  sir  ? "  asked  Charles,  nat 
urally  irritated  at  this  unromantic  interruption. 

"  Nothin',  sir ;  I  couldn't  help  it.  He  came  over 
here,  and — and  he  chas'ed  me  in  here,"  cried  the  youth, 
in  an  afflicted  manner. 

"  Leave  the  room  !  " 

"  I'm  afraid.  He'll  lick  me,"  continued  he,  moving 
slightly  in  an  undecided  way.  "  "Won't  you  please  tell 
him  to  go  away  ?  He  told  lies  about  Miss  Dinah." 

"  What  ?  "  asked  the  young  master.  A  cloud 
passed  over  his  brow.  "There  is  no  one  there. 


288  DIN  An. 

How  dare  you   come  in  here  without  being  called ! 
Leave  the  room,  sir  !  " 

It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  it  would  only  be  under 
extraordinary  provocation  that  the  overseer,  Obadiah, 
should  have  taken  up  a  propensity  of  the  cook. 

He  had  called  in  at  the  kitchen  a  short  time  pre 
viously,  for  the  purpose  of  leaving  a  note  from  the 
ardent  Sucker  to  that  female,  and  had  replied  to  the 
affable  inquiry  with  regard  to  his  own  health,  that  he 
was  laboring  under  such  a  cold  that  he  was  almost 
unable  to  hear,  and  appealed  frequently  to  a  yellow 
pocket  handkerchief  to  testify  thereto.  The  youth 
Gluckinson,  present  in  the  kitchen,  upon  hearing  this 
statement  glided  immediately  from  the  apartment  to  a 
secret  place  on  the  path  sufficiently  distant  from  the 
cook. 

"  Now's  the  time  !  I'll  blackguard  him  now.  He 
says  he's  got  such  a  cold  he  can't  hear  !  " 

He  awaited  the  egress  of  the  object  of  his  new  an 
tipathy.  Soon  the  overseer  came  by  in  the  path. 

"  Scoundrel !  "  cried  the  inflamed  youth,  jumping 
out  and  commencing  to  follow  him.  "  Villain  !  Snot- 
tish  bummer  !  Miserable  burgher !  " 

The  overseer  still  kept  his  course,  eyeing  the  youth. 
He  was  content  with  being  very  much  astonished. 
Suddenly  a  perceptible  increase  was  noticeable  in  the 
malignance  of  the  young  retainer. 

"  Davis !  "  bawled  he  in  the  overseer's  ear.    "  Jeff!  " 

It  was  too  much  for  human  nature,  even  as  low  as 
Baylon's  was,  to  endure.  He  turned  for  speedy  ven 
geance,  and  chased  the  unfortunate  youth  even  into 
the  bosom  of  his  family. 

"  Leave  the  room,  sir !  "  said  Charles. 


DINAH.  289 

CHAPTER    XLIII. 


THE    POWER    OF    SYMPATHY. 


THERE  was  something  now  in  Charles's  mind  since 
his  interest  in  the  girl  Dinah  had  become  a  memory  as 
it  were,  which  told  him  that  a  wrong  had  been  done 
even  to  his  feelings  of  charity  in  dismissing  her  in  dis 
grace  from  the  household,  and  still  more  deeply,  a 
thought  began  to  press  forcibly  upon  him  that  he  had 
thus  broken  an  influence  which  nature  had  qualified 
him  to  bo  the  agent  of,  in  the  rescue  of  her  youthful 
nature  from  the  degradation,  to  which  all  other  of  her 
associations,  past,  and  present,  were  hurrying  her.  He 
remembered  that  between  his  intellect  and  hers  there 
was  that  rare  sympathy  which  is  best  illustrated  by  the 
simple  statement,  that  they  hardly  had  to  talk  to  each 
other  in  holding  their  bright  conversations;  and  still 
beyond  this  he  felt  a  tie,  which  he  scarcely  knew  the 
nature  of  himself,  but  which  manifested  itself  in  a  long 
ing  to  experience  the  triumphant  pride  of  having  saved 
her  from  misery. 

He  had  visited  the  watering-place  and  returned  with 
his  mother,  whose  happy  feelings  may  be  imagined  on 
receiving,  on  her  arrival  at  home,  information  of  the 
more  determined  attachment  which  her  son  had  lately 
begun  to  manifest  for  Miss  Well  wood. 

It  was  a  warm,  pleasant  day  in  which  the  young  man 
had  paid  a  long  visit  to  his  friend  Dr.  Fuffles,  whose 
society  he  had  now  commenced  to  frequent  more  than 
ever.  Among  other  topics,  he  had  mentioned  in  the 
light  of  a  question  of  social  duty  rather  than  a  personal 
13 


290  DINAH. 

want,  those  ideas  which  had  lately  struck  him  in  refer 
ence  to  the  outcasts,  as  ho  had  to  term  them,  the  girl 
and  her  father;  and  although  the  Doctor  could  not 
answer  his  questions  in  full  satisfaction,  as  perhaps  a 
part  of  their  animus  was  concealed  from  the  young  man 
himself,  he  still  offered  to  him  the  agreeable  suggestion 
that  he  should  again  interest  himself  in  the  condition 
of  the  people,  with  a  due  regard,  however,  for  the  just, 
unwritten  commandments  of  society,  which  demand 
that  the  first  step  in  the  purgation  of  the  criminal  shall 
be  an  heartfelt  acknowledgment  of  the  justice  of  his  dis 
honor  ;  and  this  intellectual  condition  the  Doctor  affixed 
to  his  advice,  from  a  knowledge  of  a  heart's  weakness, 
which  would  shield  suffering  humanity,  more  especially 
old  age  or  tender  youth,  even  from  the  consequence  of 
its  own  deliberate  misdeeds.  Charles  then  alluded  to 
the  course  which  his  mother  had  advised  with  regard 
to  these  people,  as  being  founded  in  a  proper  mixture 
of  this  wise  sense  of  social  justice,  and  this  pity  of  hu 
manity.  The  Doctor  blushed,  of  course,  as  he  always 
did,  when  the  mother's  name  was  mentioned,  but  in 
addition  to  this  usual  indication  of  emotion,  a  shade  of 
uneasiness  also  passed  over  his  face.  The  subject  soon 
passed  from  their  minds,  however,  and  the  conversation 
turning  upon  other  subjects  more  interesting  to  the  two, 
Charles  finally  rose  and  pursued  his  way  homeward. 

"  Laura,"  soliloquized  he,  as  he  trudged  along, 
"  Laura  seems  to  feel  thus  ;  and  this  fellow  Warriston's 
confession  of  the  wrong  he  did  Dinah,  was  it  sincere  or 
a  subterfuge  ?  She  permits  him  to  see  her  as  usual ! 
But  even  if  it  be  so,  how — how  unworthy  she  is  of 
sympathy,  and  yet  there  is  something  which  makes  me 
think  my  nature  is  right !  Let  me  see,  it  is  now  a 


DINAH.  291 

month  since  I  caught  a  passing  sight  of  her  in  the  vil 
lage.  ~No  doubt  she  has  avoided  my  presence.  I 
think  I  did  wrong,  though  not  in  turning  her  away 
from  the  house.  No,  certainly  not.  Even  if  she  be 
honorable,  she  is  smart  and  cunning  enough  to  obtain 
money  from  him  with  all  her  innocent  looks.  I  am 
glad  of  it.  It  is  a  just  requital.  But  she  is  degraded 
enough  without  that,  Heaven  knows  !  " 

lie  raised  his  head,  and  observed  under  the  noble 
trees  in  front  of  the  church,  which  was  situated  at  some 
distance  from  the  parsonage,  a  female  standing  with  a 
basket  beside  her,  as  if  to  rest  from  the  heat,  and  labor 
of  carrying  it.  It  was  the  object  of  his  thoughts, 
Diana. 

"  Gracious  !  it  is  she.  I  am  glad.  She  has  brought 
that  basket  all  the  way  from  town,  and  is  going  home. 
It  is  pretty  light,  I  imagine.  "Why  should  I  desire  to 
shun  her  coming?  IJiardly  dare  approach  her,"  said 
he,  confused  with  some  new  feelings  which  this  unex 
pected  meeting  curiously  developed  within  him. 

He  continued  his  pace  mechanically,  almost  forcedly, 
for  he  saw  that  she  had  noticed  his  approach.  She  had 
taken  up  her  basket  and  turned  her  footsteps  in  the 
way  in  which  she  had  come,  with  the  evident  purpose 
of  avoiding  him.  "  She's  going  that  way,"  ejaculated 
he,  excitedly.  "  I'll  follow  her." 

The  girl  suddenly  directed  her  course  obliquely  to 
the  railing  of  the  churchyard  and  looked  in  for  a  mo 
ment,  and  then  came  back  with  regular  and  firm  steps 
towards  her  late  master. 

"  JSTo,  she  isn't,"  continued  he,  more  excited  than 
ever.  "  I'll  pretend  to  be  lost  in  thought,  and  not  see 
her.  I  cannot  speak  to  her.  I  dare  not.  What  is  this 


292  DINAH. 

extraordinary  power  which  she  has  over  my  will  ?  I'm 
afraid  of  her." 

The  two  kept  approaching  each  other,  and  soon 
from  proximity  she  caught  his  eye.  She  blushed,  but 
her  step  was  haughty,  her  form  was  erected  in  a  proud 
manner,  and  her  clear,  full  gaze  was  bent  undisturbedly 
upon  him.  Once  more  the  lines  of  her  grave  young 
face  made  their  indelible  impression  for  his  memory, 
as  she  pushed  aside  with  one  hand  the  brim  of  her  hat, 
and  bowed  to  him  with  that  charming  grace  which  her 
changing  years  could  not  rob  from  her  form  and  mo 
tions.  This  common  courtesy  he  succeeded  in  return 
ing  with  confusion,  but  his  tongue  cleaved  to  his  mouth 
and  refused  to  utter  a  word  as  she  passed  quietly  by. 
He  hurriedly  kept  his  pace  without  thinking  to  turn 
around  until  he  reached  the  commencement  of  the 
churchyard.  There  leaning  against  the  iron  pillar  at 
the  end  of  the  fence,  he  turned  and  saw  her  with  bent 
head  still  pursuing  her  solitary  way  at  some  distance. 

"  The  beautiful  creature  !  "  exclaimed  he,  as  soon 
as  he  had  recovered  from  his  confusion.  "  She  cares 
not  to  regard  me,  or  perhaps  she — she  knows  she  must 
not.  She  is  more  sensible  than  I."  He  walked  into  the 
churchyard  with  errant  steps,  as  she  turned  in  a  bend 
of  the  road,  and  soon  he  pushed  his  way  homeward 
filled  with  sweet  feelings,  yet  in  restless  agitation,  for 
they  semed  to  renew  the  reproachful  warfare  with 
greater  vigor  against  what  was  the  sense  of  his  duty. 


DINAH.  293 

CHAPTEK  XLIV. 

A   BENEVOLENT   VISIT. 

"  THIS  is  some  of  my  daughter's  fine  business  she 
takes  it  into  her  head  to  worry  her  old  father's  life  out 
•with.  I  don't  know  where  they  -live,  and  I  don't  care," 
said  Squire  Wellwood,  sulkily,  while  walking  slowly 
down  a  cross-road  towards  the  still  neighborhood  of 
the  lake,  having  left  Sam  with  Timothy  to  await  him 
on  the  highway.  "  What  the  devil  does  she  want  me 
to  go  alone  for  ?  Perhaps  to  relieve  me  of  the  trouble 
of  the  charity,  by  giving  them  an  opportunity  of  knock 
ing  me  down  and  robbing  me,  before  I  have  time  to 
make  the  proposition.  The  idea  of  attempting  to  aid 
people  who  have  already  been  tried  and  found  disgust 
ing,  and  on  foot  too,  before  dinner !  It  is  a  climax  to 
the  idea  of  taking  a  criminal  into  the  bosom  of  one's 
family,  because  he  is  too  old  to  do  any  thing,  and  con 
sequently  may  be  considered  safe.  The  most  extraor 
dinary  benevolence  I  ever  heard  of!  I'd  like  to  be 
intriguing  somewhere.  Now  I've  consummated  this 
affair  of  Charles  and  Lolly,  I  want  another  intrigue. 
As  Nat  said,  if  I  can  succeed  in  making  one  match  a 
month,  I  shall  probably  exercise  more  power  than  any 
other  man  living,  and  it  'excites  me.  He  said,  in  the 
way  of  mischief,  but  his  theory  was  wrong.  Goodness ! 
I  never  thought  of  it  before.  (His  daughter  had  al 
luded  in  a  conversation  with  him  respecting  Dinah,  to 
her  relations  with  Eudolph,  and  he  was  struck  with  a 
new  idea.)  I'll  do  it !  " 

Discovering  with  some  difficulty  the  house  of  the! 


DINAH. 


negroes  to  which  his  mission  sent  him,  the  Squire 
knocked  at  the  door  with  his  stick.  Upon  inquiry  of  the 
old  colored  lady  for  the  girl  and  her  father,  he  was 
apprised  that  the  former  was  absent,  but  that  the  latter 
sat  in  the  back  room,  and  was  awaiting  her  arrival 
from  town,  to  which  she  had  gone  with  some  ironing 
executed  for  a  villager.  The  old  man,  whose  chief 
pleasure  now  consisted  in  seeking  the  consolations 
which  the  Scriptures  promise  to  the  aged  and  the 
young — the  honest  and  the  criminal — raised  his  eyes 
from  his  Bible  as  the  Squire  entered.  He  had  been 
thinking  of  the  troubles  of  his  life,  and  his -memory 
resting  last  upon  the  examination  of  his  daughter  for 
the  robbery,  he  was  fearful  and  timid  of  the  world. 
He  shrank  back  then  in  his  chair,  as  Laura's  father 
quietly  approached  to  accost  him. 

"  I've  come  to  attend  to  you,"  said  the  latter,  com 
mencing  at  once  the  divulgement  of  his  praiseworthy 
intentions. 

"  Yes !  Yes  1  I  know  it.  I  have  expected  it !  " 
muttered  the  old  man,  as  his  head  sank  upon  his  breast. 
("  It  is  I  they  want  now.)  Thank  God,  it  is  I  who 
now  suffer  the  infliction,  and  not  my  darling !  " 

"  Hey  ?  "  said  the  Squire. 

"  Do  your  duty,  sir  !  "  continued  the  old  man,  with 
an  air  of  sternness,  in  his  despair. 

"  D— n  it !  I  am  going  to.  That's  what  I  came 
for,"  said  the  testy  Squire. 

"  How  is  it,  when  we  would  no  longer  intrude  our 
presence  upon  others,  we  should  still  be  persecuted  and 
hunted  in  our  poor  solitude  ?  " 

("  This  is  singular.  He  seems  to  be  enraged  at  the 
idea  of  assistance  being  offered  to  him.") 


DINAH.  295 

"  I  will  offer  no  resistance,  though  it  is  a  bitter 
thing  in  my  old  age.  You  need  not  put  on  the  hand 
cuffs,  for  I  am  an  old  man,  and  will  submit  in  resig 
nation  to  my  fate." 

("  Thore  is  something  eccentric  about  the  old  gen 
tleman.  Ho  gives  me  the  absurd  idea,  that  if  he  was 
a  younger  man  he  would  not  submit  to  be  made  an 
object  of  charity,  until  he  was  knocked  down  and  pin 
ioned.  He  certainly  don't  remind  me  of  any  man  I 
ever  knew  before !)  I  want  to  see  your  daughter. 
If  she  is  coming  pretty  soon,  I  will  wait  for  her." 

"  Oh,  don't !  she  might  not  bear  your  presence. 
We  are  unfortunate,  but  we  are  innocent,  sir.  Let  me 
break  it  to  her  when  you  are  not  here:  Go  away  for 
to-day.  I  will  not  attempt  to  escape.  You  can  lock 
me  in  the  chamber  above.  It's  strong  and  secure !  " 

"  Ila  !  ha  !  (Oh  pshaw !  I  knew  this  mission  was 
absurd.  His  sense  of  honor  is  high,  but  eccentric. 
He  prefers  to  steal  rather  than  receive  money  as  a 
present !  ") 

"  You  may  laugh,  sir,  at  the  poor  request  of  an  old 
man.  Yes,  a  long  life  of  continued  contact  with  con 
firmed  criminals,  has  rendered  you  callous  and  sus 
picious  of  all." 

"  Eh  ?     What !— " 

"  Take  me  to  your  house.  But  if  an  entry  has  not 
already  been  made  for  me,  I  will  not  go.  You  have  no 
right  to  take  me  anywhere  !  " 

("  He  wants  me  to  take  him  to  my  house,  and  he 
won't  enter  it,  unless  I  have  a  special  entry  made  for 
him  to  go  in  by  !)  Ha  !  ha  !  ha  !  Oh,  pshaw  !  " 

"  Heavens  !  The  ghastly  laugh  of  heartless  malig 
nity.  While  his  form  is  pampered  even  to  obesity, 


206  DINAH. 

with  the  sighs  of  the  wretched,  the  villain  by  expe 
rience  if  not  by  nature,  is  stamped  upon  his  brow." 

"  D — n  it !  I  say,  you  are  an  old  gentleman,  but 
I  can't  stand  that,  you  know.  Ha !  ha ! — oh,  the 
devil !  " 

"  "Wretched  man.  "Would  you  add  profanity  to  the 
other  miserable  demonstrations  of  your  character  ?  " 

"  Oh !  I  am  not  going  to  stand  that,  and  I  won't !  " 
said  the  excited  Squire,  dancing  towards  a  window  in 
a  great  rage,  and  commencing  to  throw  books  about. 

He  had  been  slapping  the  doors  with  his  cane  for 
some  time,  when  the  young  girl  Dinah  entered,  and  soon 
restored  both  him  and  her  old  father,  who  had  been 
witnessing  these  performances  with  the  attentive  gaze 
of  fear,  if  not  of  admiration, — to  equanimity  and  a 
pleased  state  of  mind,  by  reconciling  their  misunder 
standing.  Her  sober  yet  pleased  looks,  and  the  appre 
ciative  interest  which  she  manifested  in  his  conversa 
tion,  soon  led  the  worthy  parent  of  Laura  to  specify 
the  proposition  of  charity  which  he  had  to  make,  after 
several  appropriate  allusions  to  men  "  he  once  knew," 
and  the  girl  thanked  him  and  his  daughter,  whose 
name  seemed  blessed  by  her  internally  as  she  spoke  it. 
She  said,  with  a  look  of  cheerful  confidence,  that  they 
were  not  in  want,  and  she  would  refuse  then  to  take 
the  money ;  the  worthy  Squire,  after  wrestling  with 
his  regret  at  this  for  a  short  moment,  threw  himself 
with  all  his  mental  vigor  into  the  intrigue  he  had  been 
contemplating,  by  conveying  to  her  the  startling  infor 
mation  on  the  spot,  that  she  was  to  be  married  on  the 
following  Wednesday  to  his  neighbor  Warriston,  he 
himself  seeing  that  the  young  man  should  be  properly 
intoxicated  if  he  manifested  refractory  symptoms,  and 


DINAH.  297 

proceeded  to  congratulate  her  upon  the  fine  establish 
ment  she  would  come  in  possession  of. 

"  I  know  you  do  not  love  him,  and  there  is  consid 
erable  difference  in  your  ages,  but — " 

The  young  girl  saw  his  earnest  drift  amidst  his 
eccentricity,  and  said  quietly,  "  Oh,  sir,  such  a  propo 
sition  is  not  worthy  the  violation  you  are  doing  your 
own  honor  to  unfold  it !  " 

"  Eh  ?  "  said  the  ardent  Squire.  "  This  is  a  new 
place.  It  is  just  in  such  complicated  places  as  this,  I 
expected  the  difficulties  would  arise.  Perhaps  I  was  a 
little  too  fast."  His  eyes  gleamed  after  a  moment,  and 
he  issued  a  very  eccentric  command  to  the  girl.  "  Kiss 
me !  "  said  he.  Although  she  did  not  immediately 
comply  with  his  request,  probably  on  account  of  its 
suddenness,  he  became  more  interested  in  her  than 
ever,  and  proceeded  in  consequence  to  divulge  to  her 
at  once,  all  those  matters  which  had  been  of  a  pleasant 
nature  to  himself  for  the  last  two  months,  with  the 
praiseworthy  intention  of  producing  the  same  effect 
upon  her  spirits.  Only  one  matter  to  which  he  alluded 
seemed  to  agitate  the  girl  in  any  other  way  than  that 
of  courteous  attention.  As  the"  worthy  Squire  alluded 
in  triumph  to  the  coming  marriage  of  his  daughter  with 
Charles,  the  girl  bowed  her  head  quickly,  and  con 
cealed  her  countenance  for  a  moment.  She  then  pro 
ceeded  to  listen  to  the  parent,  who  having  alluded  in  a 
chuckling,  manner  to  the  fact  that  there  had  been  no 
rivals  about,  was  peremptorily  reminded  of  some  eccen 
tric  member  of  the  human  family,  who,  impelled  by 
motives  of  jealousy  at  the  marriage  of  his  love  to  his 
rival,  stole  secretly  into  a  barn  at  some  distance  from 
the  house  in  which  the  nuptials  were  proceeding,  and 
13* 


298  DINAH. 

hanging  the  house  cat  out  of  the  loft  window  by  the 
hind  legs,  so  that  she  would  barely  touch  the  ground, 
malignantly  awaited  the  consequences.  In  about 
fifteen  minutes,  being  attracted  by  the  cries  of  one  of 
their  kind,  the  number  of  cats  who  had  gathered  about 
the  suspended  animal  from  different  parts  of  the  neigh 
borhood  exceeded  three  hundred  of  various  sorts  and 
sizes,  and  their  yells,  as  they  fought  in  mistaken  fury, 
and  the  impossibility  of  quelling  the  riot,  succeeded  for 
a  length  of  time,  which  must  have  been  exceedingly 
gratifying  to  the  malignant  rival,  in  confusing  and 
breaking  up  the  party  within. 

The  fur  flew  fast  and  thick,  and  only  eleven  cats 
came  from  the  scene  of  conflict.  The  rest  were  left 
dead  on  the  field  of  battle.  As  Dinah  laughed  heartily 
at  this  funny  anecdote,  the  old  gentleman  was  more 
attracted  to  her  than  ever,  and,  saying  that  he  would 
call  again,  left  for  the  exasperated  Sam  and  Timothy. 


CHAPTEK    XLV. 

A    BRIEF    VISIT    TO    THE    NEGKO    COTTAGE. 

AN  irresistible  longing  to  see  this  young  girl  now 
took  undisputed  possession  of  Charles.  He  had  re 
flected  that  she  looked  poverty-stricken  when  he  saw 
her.  She  wore  the  same  muslin  dress  which  he  re 
membered  she  had  two  months  before  when  an  inmate 
of  the  household,  and  though  it  was  neat  and  smoothly 
ironed,  he  could  see  it  was  old  and  faded.  "While  think- 


DINAH. 

ing  of  her,  it  seemed  as  though  she  stood  before  him  in 
the  same  attitude  as  at  the  churchyard,  with  her  face 
turned  towards  him.  "  Yes,"  said  he,  as  if  looking  at 
a  picture,  "  she  appears  careworn,  and  underneath  that 
proud  look  she  seems  to  ask  me  for  my  help  against 
poverty  and  temptation.  She  says  that  she  is  not  yet 
lost,  and  that  I  can  save  her."  He  wandered  away  to 
the  road  from  the  park  where  he  had  been  standing 
in  pensive  mood,  careless  whither  he  strayed.  Insensi 
bly  his  steps  were  bent  in  the  direction  of  her  house  by 
the  lake  as  he  walked  along.  "  Pshaw  !  Am  I  not  fool 
ish  ?  Money  indeed  will  be  more  acceptable  to  her  than 
a  renewal  of  my  lecturing  or  bestowal  of  confidence, 
and  let  Laura  assist  her.  Are  there  such  singular,  un 
scrupulous  natures,  possessing  the  power  of  winning 
honest  people's  sympathy  in  spite  of  their  judgment  ? 
Shall  I  not  assist  some  low-lived  rascal  whom  she  loves, 
if  I  answer  this  impulse  ?  Yes.  And  they  are  both 
now  laughing  probably  over  the  money  they  have  al 
ready  received,  and  angry  because  they  did  not  succeed 
in  their  robbery.  There  is  the  lake  !  Gracious  !  It  is 
a  long  distance  around  to  the  other  side.  I  may  see 
her.  Assuredly  there  will  be  no  folly  in  ascertaining 
if  she  be  really  suffering.  Humanity  at  least  demands 
that."  As  he  approached,  this  renewed  bias  of  severity 
towards  the  girl  increased,  and  more  than  once  did  he 
accuse  himself  of  folly  and  threaten  to  turn  back,  but 
still  with  unfulfilling  effect.  Coming  within  sight  of 
the  humble  dwelling  he  noticed  its  poor,  yet  neat  ap 
pearance,  and  was  particularly  struck  with  the  dark, 
melancholy  gloom  of  its  position  amid  the  dignity  of 
the  tall  still  trees.  A  small  kitchen-garden  was  grow 
ing  by  the  side  of  the  house,  but  there  was  no  evidence 


300  DINAH. 

of  untidiness  about  it.  The  usual  pig  "was  not  to  be 
seen  at  all,  and  if  lie  was  anywhere  about  was  probably 
in  some  distant  pen  in  sequestered  grandeur.  And  the 
fowls  did  not  look  like  negro's  fowls  at  all,  but  were  a 
respectable  addition  to  the  landscape. 

The  agitation  of  the  young  man  had  quite  left  him, 
and  he  felt  thoroughly  self-possessed  as  he  walked  to 
wards  the  house.  His  memory  had  brought  up  again 
to  his  judgment  facts  enough  respecting  the  girl  to  con 
vert  his  softness  of  feeling  into  something  like  easy  in 
difference  even,  and  the  consciousness  of  performing  a 
humane  duty.  The  real  relation  between  them — he 
as  a  powerful  young  man  of  the  neighborhood,  and  she 
an  humble  yet  unscrupulous  outcast,  whom  he  was  try 
ing  to  raise  from  a  voluntary  degradation — was  now 
fully  restored,  and  he  asked  at  the  door  to  have  her  in 
formed  of  his  presence,  with  that  feeling  simply.  Her 
face  was  pale  as  she  approached  the  door  in  the  entry, 
and  she  asked  him  to  come  in  and  be  seated,  in  a  low 
voice,  in  which  he  thought  there  was  perceptible  a 
slight  tremor,  of  course  highly  natural. 

"  No,  I  will  sit  on  yonder  bench  under  the  tree, 
while  I  stop,"  said  he.  "  I  wish  to  speak  to  you  but 
for  a  moment,  though  I  came  purposely  to  do  so." 

He  led  the  way  to  the  rustic  seat  and  they  both  sat 
down  there  together.  The  old  negro  lady,  who  was  the 
only  one  else  in  the  house,  (as  her  son  had  taken  the 
old  father  and  Tip  upon  a  ride  to  town  in  his  white 
washing  cart,)  could  not  refrain  from  looking  out  of  the 
window  for  a  moment  in  irrepressible  curiosity,  but  be 
ing  immediately  detected  by  the  young  girl,  was  so 
overcome  with  the  fear  of  having  offended  her,  that  she 
trotted  frantically  into  the  kitchen  and  made  four  pies, 


DINAH.  301 

to  keep  from  temptation  during  the  remainder  of  the 
interview. 

"I  have  come  to  assist  you,"  said  Charles,  coldly 
and  sternly.  "  However  guilty  you  may  have  been,  it 
is  not  proper  that  you  or  your  father  should  suffer  from 
want,  even  of  which  your  own  folly  is  the  cause." 

She  told  him  that  she  would  have  economized  the 
money  which  he  had  given  her,  but  that  it  had  been 
devoted,  together  with  that  which  Col.  Norcomb  had 
bestowed  upon  her,  to  the  payment  of  a  debt  due  the 
overseer,  Baylon,  who  had  loaned  them  some  money 
Upon  their  needy  arrival  in  the  neighborhood,  the 
amount  of  which  had  accumulated  considerably  with 
the  lapse  of  time.  "  And  in  order  to  meet  the  future 
with  courage,  I  consent  to  be  ashamed  now,"  said  she, 
with  a  laugh.  "  But  why  should  I  be  ashamed  at 
accepting  money  from  you  ?  "  continued  she,  looking 
around  at  the  poverty  of  the  place  in  which  she  dwelt. 

He  said  nothing  immediately.  ("  Of  course  her 
lover  shared  it  with  her.  This  is  charity  with  a  ven 
geance.  And  has  she  not  procured  money  of  W  arris- 
ton  ?)  Does  not  Rudolph  know  your  want,  and  has  he 
not  been  willing  to  assist  you  ?  "  continued  he  aloud, 
after  a  pause. 

"  Yes,"  said  she,  blushing,  "  but  let  me  be  a  beggar 
from  you  alone  !  I  would  rather  be  under  obligations 
to  you  than  any  one  else." 

("  She  talks  of  obligations  !)  and  why  to  me  ?  " 

"  Because — because  it  is  better  for  your  nature  that 
you  should  do  good  to  one  that  you  have  done  wrong 
towards,"  said  she,  passionately.  "  Won't  you  beg  my 
pardon  ?  "  continued  she,  earnestly. 

"  You  are  not  sly  at  all  in  your  machinations,"  said 


302  DINAH. 

the  young  man,  sceptically ;  "  you  carry  the  day  by 
bold  attacks.  Now  listen  to  me,  Dinah!  Facts  are 
soldiers  that  will  not  serve  in  a  bad  cause.  It  has  been 
tried  over  and  over  again  to  get  them  into  the  field 
under  evil  banners,  but  they  always  rebel — yet  I  will 
beg  your  pardon." 

"  But  you  may  not  for  what  facts  teach  you,"  said 
she,  in  bitterness.  "  Yes,  it  is  well  to  accuse  me  of 
falsehood,  yet  not  in  reference  to  Mr.  "Warriston.  I 
have  told  you  a  bitter  lie,"  continued  she,  astonishing 
the  young  man  by  this  confession.  "  Yes,  I  have 
wronged  you,  and  it  is  not  you  that  have  erred  against 
me !  But  God  will  forgive  me  and  help  me,  I  know. 
Give  me  money  enough  to  go  away  with,  and  we  will  go 
far  away  from  here  forever  !  It  is  certainly  worth  the 
sum  to  get  rid  of  us,"  continued  she,  earnestly.  "  You 
shall  never  hear  of  us  again.  Oh,  sir,  we  should  not 
live  here.  "We  have  no  right  to  live  among  honest 
people." 

"  Now,  Dinah,  can  you  relieve  my  mind  from  the 
anxiety  which  I  must  feel  as  a  man  and  a  member  of 
society  for  a  young  being  who  is  erring  at  the  outset  ? 
"What  is  this  mystery  which  overhangs  you ;  which 
causes  this  duplicity  of  earnest  emotion  ?  Why  not  con 
fide  it  to  me  !  Though  it  be  a  tale  of  degradation — " 

She  looked  at  him  sternly.  But  it  was  almost  in 
carelessness  of  his  presence  that  a  haughty  look  passed 
over  her  face,  as  if  she  were  defending  herself  from  her 
trials  By  a  secret  consciousness  of  her  own  superiority. 
She  replied  not,  and  the  singular  characteristics  of  her 
conduct,  especially  the  impossibility  of  the  insincerity 
of  such  feelings  as  she  had  just  betrayed,  and  the  firm 
ness  with  which  she  resisted  him  once  more  in  his  de- 


DINAH.  303 

sire  that  she  should  make  him  her  confidant,  only- 
served  to  renew  his  old  interest  in  her,  in  spite  of  her 
degradation,  while  it  aroused  his  fancy. 

The  romances  of  old  came  up  to  his  mind  in  which 
young  earthly  beings,  pure  and  unstained,  were  delivered 
into  the  power  of  evil  beings,  that  they  might  redeem 
the  latter  from  restless  wandering  and  misery  through 
the  tortures  of  their  own  inoffensive  natures.  He  had 
coldly  told  her  that  he  would  despatch  the  charity 
which  she  had  accepted  from  him,  but  on  rising  from 
the  interview  he  sought  an  excuse  to  be  his  own  mes 
senger.  As  he  bade  her  adieu,  he  asked  her  in  a  nat 
ural  manner  the  best  spots  to  fish  upon  on  the  borders 
of  the  lake.  "  Upon  the  other  side,  I  think,"  said  she, 
pointing  towards  the  opposite  shore  of  the  magnificent 
lake,  with  a  laugh.  Her  equanimity  had  been  quickly 
restored,  and  her  old  way  of  satire  seemed  to  have  come 
upon  her  again.  She  knew  he  was  seeking  an  excuse 
to  come  again,  and  for  the  moment  could  not  refrain 
from  plaguing  him. 

"  Say  !  "  said  she,  when  he  was  about  leaving ;  "  will 
you  please  say  nothing  to  father  about  me  ?  "Will  you, 
please  ?  "  continued  she,  slowly,  and  turning  her  eyes 
tenderly  into  his  face. 

Whatever  her  relations  were,  her  passionate  earnest 
ness  gave  tokens  that  her  father  knew  naught  respecting 
them. 


304:  DINAH. 


CHAPTEE    XLYI. 

DIXAH   EEVEALS   A   6ECEET   TO    CHAELES. — AX  ACCIDENT. 

"  LET  me  see,  in  about  a  week  from  now  I  will  go 
over  there  again,"  ejaculated  Charles  on  his  return. 
"  To-morrow  I  must  be  with  Laura.  The  dear  girl 
with  her  warm  heart  has  defended  Dinah,  although  she 
feels  that  she  is  guilty  of  criminal  intentions.  This 
girl  is  certainly  occupying  more  of  my  attention  than  I 
ought  to  give  to  her  affairs.  Yes,  about  a  week  from 
to-morrow,  say ! " 

On  his  arrival  at  his  house,  meeting  his  mother,  she 
gently  accosted  him  with  an  inquiry  as  to  the  direction 
of  his  walk.  "  Towards  the  lake,"  said  he,  carelessly. 

The  mother  looked  at  him  steadily,  but  refrained  at 
the  moment  from  uttering  her  thoughts.  "Whatever 
they  were,  her  son  felt  that  she  would  certainly  disap 
prove  of  his  changed  intentions  with  regard  to  the  girl, 
and  he  concluded  not  to  mention  them  to  her. 

When  the  next  morning  came,  it  was  a  bright  day, 
and  a  prospect  of  fine  weather  for  the  next  three  or  four 
days  being  indicated,  he  mentally  shortened  the  period 
which  he  had  fixed  for  visiting  the  girl,  and  resolved 
that  he  would  go  in  about  three  days. 

Towards  noon,  he  stole  out  of  the  back  gate,  and 
sought  the  woods  with  a  chuckle  of  self-gratulation, 
and  a  slight  sense  of  conscience,  as  boys  who  run 
away  from  school.  He  was  playing  truant  from  his 
intention,  under  the  self-deception  that  a  row  on  the 
lake  would  be  especially  pleasant  on  that  day.  He 
soon  reached  the  side  of  the  lake  opposite  the  house  in 


DINAH.  305 

which  Dinah  lived,  and  could  see  far  off  the  diminu 
tive  opening  of  the  road,  which  wound  by  it  down  to 
the  lake-side. 

The  wind  scarcely  stirred,  and  would  not  perhaps 
have  been  perceptible,  had  it  not  a  gentle  purling 
sweep  there  across  the  lake's  broad  bosom.  The  young 
man,  after  being  seated  upon  a  rock  for  a  few  moments, 
resolved  to  betake  himself  to  an  old  boat  which  was 
anchored  by  a  stone  to  the  shore  near  by,  and  was 
swaying  under  the  influence  of  the  slight  swell.  It  was 
a  red-painted,  flat-bottom  thing,  with  fixed  oars  of 
pine,  rudely  contrived  by  some  farmer  who  left  it  on 
the  shore  for  common  use  of  the  fishers.  Ere  he  de 
parted  upon  his  proposed  pleasure  tour  around  the 
island  above,  he  turned  his  eyes  to  the  sky  and  the 
landscape,  and  noticed  with  pleasure  the  effect  of  light 
and  shade  on  hill  and  dale,  near  and  afar  off.  At  some 
distance  from  him,  sitting  upon  a  log  which  projected 
from  the  dark  and  shaded  water  upon  the  shore,  was  a 
frog  enjoying  the  pleasures  of  solitude,  and  bawling  at 
the  top  of  his  raucous  voice,  his  love  of  the  liquid  ele 
ment.  A  pleasure  party  of  mud-turtles  also  visited 
for  a  moment  the  shore  at  the  young  man's  feet,  and 
wheeled  to  seek  other  spots  for  the  organization  of  their 
aquatic  picnic. 

Having  pushed  off  from  the  shore,  he  arrayed 
himself  for  his  pleasure  cruise ;  but  noticing  at  the 
moment,  that  the  wind  was  unfavorable,  he  con 
cluded  that  he  would  experience  sufficient  muscular 
excitement,  were  he  to  push  the  rude  gondola  across 
the  lake,  instead  of  smiting  the  waves  which  rolled 
around  the  little  island  above.  The  more  he  tugged, 
the  more  the  desire  of  a  slight  refreshment,  such,  for 


306  DIN  An. 

instance,  as  a  glass  of  milk,  grew  upon  him ;  and  on 
arriving  after  a  vigorous  pull  for  half  an  hour  on  the 
other  side,  his  thirst  was  so  exorbitant,  that  he  im 
mediately  started  off  for  the  desired  refreshment  to 
the  nearest  habitation,  which  happened  to  be  the  negro 
house.  Thus  in  innocent  unconsciousness,  was  he 
brought  the  next  day  after  his  interview  with  the  girl, 
to  her  threshold  again. 

He  had  been  engaged  in  conversation  but  a  moment, 
and  it  was  ere  she  received  the  pittance  of  benevolence 
from  his  hands,  that  she  folded  hers  in  temporary  re 
fusal,  and  said  with  rapid  accents,  but  yet  with  com 
posure,  "  I  possess  a  secret  which  is  rather  your  right 
than  mine,  and  I  have  determined  to  impart  it  to  you 
at  once,  however  much  you  may  blame  me  for  not  hav 
ing  done  so  ere  this  !  "  (The  young  man's  heart  began 
to  beat.)  "  In  the  record  of  the  deed  to  the  property 
which  formerly  composed  the  original  estate  of  Mr. 
Pompney,  and  by  which  it  passed  out  of  his  hands 
thirty  years  ago,  a  flaw  exists,  of  such  a  nature  that 
the  title  to  the  whole  of  Pompney  Place,  and  a  part 
also  of  other  farms  about,  still  rests  in  the  heirs  of 
the  Pompney  family."  Charles  uttered  a  natural  ex 
clamation  of  deep  astonishment.  "  An  error  in  the 
description,  by  which  the  boundary  of  the  tract  in 
tended  to  be  sold  was  altered  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
omit  this  portion." 

"  But  how  is  it,  that  this  defect,  after  escaping  the 
notice  of  those  interested  for  so  long  a  period,  has  now 
been  suddenly  brought  to  light  ? "  interrupted  he, 
quickly,  with  almost  a  sneer,  under  the  influence  of 
his  incredulity. 

She  suggested  as  well  as  she  could,  in  reply  to  his 


DINAH.  307 

suspicion,  the  careless  manner  in  which  records  were 
then  probably  made,  the  insignificance  of  a  figure  or 
two,  and  the  musty  reliance  upon  the  correctness  of  the 
parent  document,  in  the  few  searches  which  may  have 
been  made. 

"  But — but  Colonel  Pompney  had  no  heirs  !  "  con 
tinued  he,  astounded  at  this  singular  development  from 
a  young  sixteen  year  old,  respecting  his  own  affairs. 
It  would  have  been  more  appropriate  from  some  lawyer 
of  years  of  pettifogging.  "  And  besides  that,  the  time 
of  prescription  has  run  and — " 

"  No  !  The  time  is  not  yet  out,  and  Colonel  Pomp 
ney  has  an  heir  living.  I  am  his  granddaughter !  " 
said  the  girl,  quietly. 

Charles  started.  ("  By  Heaven !  she  is  of  the  bloo4 
of  the  old  pioneer,  and  he  has — )  But  how — how 
are  you  his  granddaughter  ? "  stammered  he,  in  his 
wonder. 

The  girl  quickly  answered  him.  She  seemed  anx 
ious  to  hasten  to  an  end.  Her  grandfather  Pompney's 
daughter,  a  wild  girl  in  her  youth,  became  enamored 
of  his  overseer.  She  secretly  married  him,  and  the 
two  were  dismissed  in  unbruited  disgrace  from  the 
parent's  presence. 

"  Although  this  record  is  not  right,  sir,  the  original 
deed  is.  That  is  in  your  possession,  and  you  should 
have  it  recorded  again,"  continued  she,  quickly,  and 
immediately,  though  still  in  a  quiet  way,  "  Thank  God, 
I  have  done  my  duty  !  " 

A  thrill  passed  over  the  young  man.  It  was 
because  he  recalled,  while  he  thought  of  the  scene 
before  the  cabinet,  with  those  deeds  torn  and  scattered 
upon  the  floor,  the  inexplicable  voice  of  his  dream. 


308  DINAH. 

Had  the  spirit  of  the  pioneer  unsuccessfully  possessed 
his  descendant  with  this  human  chicanery,  to  recover 
back  into  his  line  the  home  of  his  founding  ? 

The  girl  then  reverted  to  the  history  of  her  father  ; 
how  he  had  won  her  grandfather's  confidence  by  the 
composition  of  traditions  about  his  ancestors,  and  how  he 
assisted  to  lay  out  his  grounds,  and  the  final  winning  of 
the  affections  of  his  daughter,  and  the  subsequent  rage 
of  the  Colonel ;  their  wandering  in  distant  places  ;  the 
Colonel's  losses  in  money  matters,  and  his  final  death  in 
the  arms  of  his  daughter,  after  he  had  parted  with  his 
estate.  Charles  recalled  the  corroborative  reminis 
cences  of  Colonel  Pompney,  often  the  theme  of  his 
aunt. 

"But  why  did  not  your  father  promulgate  his 
relationship  when  he  returned  to  this  place  ? "  asked 
he,  on  observing  that  the  girl  appeared  disinclined  to 
proceed  with  a  farther  relation  of  the  history  of  her 
family. 

"  Because  we  were — "  she  stopped  and  blushed, 
and  Charles  recollected  that  he  had  again  forgotten 
their  degradation. 

"  !No  one  cared  enough  about  him.  What  reason 
had  we  to — "  continued  she,  weariedly. 

"  But  such  a  fact,  when  known  among  the  villagers, 
might  have  assisted  you." 

"  No — no ;  not  one  of  them  knew  it  then,  much  less 
now,  and  would  they  have  believed  it  ?  Oh,  no  I  At 
any  rate,  father  would  not  do  it.  He  would  not  have 
it  mentioned.  My — my  mother's  gravestone  has  not 
her  family's  inscription." 

"  Is  it  possible,"  thought  he, "  that,  in  the  midst  of  all 
their  dishonor,  they  have  felt  this  delicacy  ?  Even  his 


DINAH.  309 

crime  may  have  been  brought  about  by  suffering  and 
want,  which  maddened  him." 

"  But  he  knows  nothing  about  this.  It  was  only  I 
who — "  She  stopped  and  blushed  deeply. 

Charles  suddenly  reflected  that  there  had  been  no 
positive  proof  that  the  girl  intended  to  rob  the  cabinet 
of  its  contents,  and  that  the  sole  evidence  that  there 
had  been  any  other  person  than  she  in  the  library  on 
that  occasion,  was  the  recurrence  of  the  singular  voice. 
Impelled  by  this  new  development,  so  favorable  to  his 
inclination  to  trust  in  her  purity  and  honor,  he  reached 
an  old  conclusion  by  a  new  chain  of  thought,  referring 
to  all  the  events  with  which  he  had  connected  her, 
whose  links  were  passed  in  rapid  unconsciousness, 
whose  links  were  singular  but  infallible ;  and  while  he 
would  not  disbelieve  the  evidence  of  his  royal  sense, 
his  vision,  he  was  forced  to  slight  the  humbler  sense  of 
hearing.  Yes,  he  believed  that  it  was  an  exaggeration 
of  Eudolph's  voice  he  had  heard  upon  the  lake,  of  some 
sot's  in  the  graveyard,  lastly,  of  Gluckinson's  cry  ;  and 
to  believe  that  this  singular  repetition  might  be  refer 
able  to  some  subjective  disorder,  was  preferable  to 
believing  in  supernatural  visitations,  which  seemed 
his  only  alternative,  when  he  remembered  that  the 
same  voice  was  that  of  a  night-horse — of  the  unreal 
creature  of  a  dream.  Dinah,  on  yesterday,  had  ac 
knowledged  that  she  had  been  guilty  of  deception  in 
her  statement. 

Yes,  it  appeared  clear  to  him  now.  Becoming  pos 
sessed  of  the  secret  of  the  faulty  record,  she  had  indulged 
her  curiosity,  or  perhaps  the  baser  appeals  of  interest  at 
the  expense  of  honor,  which  however  she  had  nobly 
withstood,  and  noticing  the  frequency  with  which  the 


310  DINAH. 

cabinet  was  unlocked,  had  attempted  to  examine  at  a 
secret  hour,  those  papers  which  related  to  property 
once  in  the  possession  of  her  ancestor.  Taken  by  sur 
prise,  in  the  moment  of  confusion  she  had  endeavored 
to  restore  them  to  the  drawer  with  partial  success. 
Fear  and  shame  had  induced  her  to  fabricate  her  tale 
of  the  night's  occurrence,  and  the  inability  of  her  nature 
to  sustain  her  in  it,  had  led  to  the  consequences  which 
followed. 

Diana  noticing  his  reflective  silence,  and  without 
doubt,  conjecturing  the  thoughts  which  were  passing 
in  his  mind,  blushed  as  if  at  the  ideas  which  were 
attached  to  her,  and  conjured  him  at  this  point  to  have 
confidence  in  her,  when  she  stated  that  she  did  not 
intend  to  despoil  the  safe  of  the  important  deed  or  any 
other  of  its  contents,  and  in  a  manner  wherein  her 
subtlety,  if  she  had  any,  was  quite  concealed  by  her 
agitation,  asked  him  if  she  had  not  done  all  she  could 
to  make  reparation,  even  had  she  any  such  base  in 
tentions. 

Charles  was  satisfied  by  her  earnest,  honorable  man 
ner,  that  she  was  truthful.  Indeed,  there  was  some 
thing  which  made  him  long  so  forcibly  to  reburnish 
his  sympathy  with  her,  that  he  felt  willing  to  be  duped 
by  her,  if  she  were  not.  The  manner  in  which  she  had 
become  possessed  of  the  secret,  was  now  the  absorbent 
of  his  fanciful  marvel.  As  he  was  resistlessly  about  to 
question  her  respecting  it,  she  seemed  again  to  divine 
his  thoughts,  and  such  was  the  increased  tremor  which 
shook  her  frame,  that  he  was  dissuaded  by  an  emotion 
which  first  bore  the  romantic  form,  but  afterwards  trans 
formed  itself  into  a  species  of  downright  shame,  at  the 
absurdities  of  his  own  imagination,  connected  with  this 


DINAH.  311 

ridiculous  voice.  "  Without  doubt,  she  learned  it  of  her 
father  in  some  way,  and  she  honorably,  creditably,  de 
sires  to  shield  him  from  the  slightest  suspicion.  Yes, 
and  I  will  not  even  suspect  her  purity,  or  even  cause 
her  to  think  that  I  suspect  it  by  asking  her  !  " 

He  rose  to  leave  her  with  a  species  of  triumph 
which  is  of  the  highest  order^  the  rejoicing  of  an  honest 
nature,  to  find  the  clouds  of  suspicion  removed  from 
another.  In  his  exultation,  he  asked  her  to  return  with 
her  father  once  more  to  the  household  of  his  mother. 

"  No  !  no  !  I  cannot.  I  do  not  desire  to,"  said  she, 
in  a  low  voice.  "  We  can  get  along  well  enough  here, 
and  indeed  we  have  no  claim  to  be  admitted  into  any 
one's  family."  Perhaps  the  thought  of  the  degradation 
of  her  family  and  name,  was  moving  in  her  mind  all 
the  time ;  but  Charles  thought  it  was  singular  she 
should  not  wish  to  recommence  the  course,  which  was 
the  easiest  to  remove  that  stain.  lie  knew  that  his 
mother  would  be  slightly  opposed  to  the  return  of  thp 
girl  of  course,  and  if  the  girl  acted  on  that  considera 
tion,  under  all  the  circumstances  she  was  entitled  to 
the  credit  of  great  delicacy,  rather  than  the  discredit  of 
excessive  pride  and  obstinacy. 

And  now  as  he  bade  her  a  cheerful  adieu,  he  did 
not  relax  in  his  design  of  assisting  her,  not  only  in  the 
physical  wants,  which  her  youth,  the  age  of  her  father, 
and  their  position  created,  but  also  in  a  moral  reestab- 
lishment  of  the  two  upon  an  honest  footing  in  the 
world.  Aye,  at  least  for  the  honor  of  old  Pompncy 
and  his  blood. 

Four  or  five  hours  had  been  expended  by  him  since 
he  left  his  residence,  and  he  concluded  it  to  be  wise  to 
return  in  the  shortened  manner  by  which  he  came. 


312  DIN  An. 

The  wind  had  risen  considerably,  and  as  he  embarked 
in  the  fragile  boat,  he  noticed  that  the  waves  of  the 
lake  dashed  up  with  force  against  the  shores,  while  the 
little  vessel  itself  was  thumping  with  a  heavy  sound 
against  the  rocks.  It  was  past  the  hour  of  sunset,  and 
the  thickly  clouded  heavens  precluded  the  possibility 
of  witnessing  the  lingering  spectacle  of  a  golden  twi 
light.  However,  he  commenced  to  pull  upon  the  oars 
on  his  way  back.  Dinah,  bareheaded,  had  walked 
down  upon  the  road  leading  around  the  lake,  to  meet 
her  father  returning  in  the  cart  from  town.  As  Charles 
watched  the  receding  shore  from  his  position,  he 
noticed  her  form,  now  visible  in  an  open  space,  and 
now  disappearing  behind  a  clump  of  trees  or  interven 
ing  rocks.  Her  hair  was  short  and  irregular  in  front 
like  a  boy's,  but  behind  it  was  long  and  fell  thickly 
upon  her  neck.  This  he  could  distinguish,  as  the  wind 
played  naughtily  with  it,  and  he  observed  that  now 
and  then  she  turned  her  vision  towards  him.  A  drop 
or  two  of  rain  soon  fell  with  a  dash  on  the  red  paint 
of  the  oar-handles,  and  struck  his  hand.  Birds  were 
flying  fitfully  and  irregularly  in  the  air  above  him,  and 
the  crows,  particularly,  were  squalling  in  an  unusually 
ill-boding  manner. 

He  now  thought  that  Dinah  was  right,  when  she 
told  him  to  stick  to  the  land  and  an  umbrella  if  he 
didn't  want  to  get  wet  through.  A  September  storm 
was  commencing  with  the  shades  of  the  evening,  and 
the  harbinger  drops  were  commencing  to  be  followed 
by  a  driven  rain  sweeping  on  the  bosom  of  the  lake 
before  a 'rising  blast.  He  saw  the  girl  running  back 
quickly  in  the  direction  of  the  house,  under  the  shelter 
of  the  trees,  and  soon  he  observed  her  on  the  banks  of 


DINAH.  313 

the  lak£  at  the  point  which  he  left,  crouching  against 
the  pelting  rain,  and  waving  her  handkerchief  as  if  by 
way  of  command  to  return.  He  acknowledged  in  pan 
tomime  her  act,  and  let  on  a  flood  of  vigor.  Just  then, 
a  sudden  blast  carried  his  hat  high  into  the  air,  and 
resting  for  a  moment  on  one  oar  to  point  humorously  at 
its  abandoned  flight,  he  proceeded  again  with  a  vigor 
ous  dash.  The  girl  now  seemed  irritated.  He  could 
see  that  she  stamped  her  foot,  and  no  doubt  she  was 
ejaculating  that  trite  but  expressive  phrase,  "  What 
a  fool !  "  But  he  was  under  the  impression  that  he 
could  reach  the  other  shore  before  it  became  quite 
dark,  and  after  that,  he  might  borrow  an  umbrella  at 
some  of  the  farm-houses,  and  trudge  homeward  on 
foot,  inspirited  by  the  incident.  The  boat  was  a 
rickety  little  concern,  and  he  was  under  the  exas 
perating  necessity  of  arresting  his  progress  now  and 
then,  to  use  the  rusty  tin  dipper  kept  therein  for  bail 
ing  emergencies,  and  at  each  of  these  periods,  he  drifted 
around  helter-skelter,  bouncing  up  and  down  on  the 
dancing  waves. 

He  was  throwing  a  tin  full  of  the  water  in  irrita 
tion  high  into  the  air,  when  he  noticed  the  girl  putting 
her  hands  to  her  mouth  after  the  manner  of  youthful 
individuals,  making  an  impromptu  speaking  trumpet. 
The  round  full  tones  borne  on  the  blast,  fell  in  a  mo 
ment  on  his  ear  Jike  the  cry  from  a  boy's  lips.  She 
had  lowered  her  voice,  and  drawled  out  each  word  to 
a  great  length  to  make  him  hear ;  but  he  observed 
with  peculiar  emotions  above  the  clearness  of  the 
tone,  and  the  confusion  and  indistinctness  of  the  articu 
lation,  that  his  eccentric  imagination,  without  doubt 
excited  by  the  late  divulgement,  had  clothed  the  pecu- 
14 


314:  DINAH. 

liarity  of  her  effort  with  a  startling  resemblanqe  to  the 
dream-set  voice  of  her  ancestor,  the  old  pioneer,  and, 
indeed,  proved  its  own  disorder. 

The  night  and  the  mist  had  closed  down  upon  the 
lake,  and  the  land  was  fading  in  the  distant  driving 
rain.  His  position  might  be  rendered  slightly  uncom 
fortable  if  he  did  not  point  his  course  to  some  point  of 
the  lake  which  he  could  speedily  reach,  for  it  was  the 
season  of  shortening  days,  and  the  storm  had  brought 
on  darkness  before  he  had  anticipated.  Under  the 
veering  inspiration  of  this  reflection,  he  gave  such  an 
energetic  pull  that  he  heard  a  slight  snap  in  one  of  his 
oars.  After  that  and  two  or  three  pulls,  it  tranquilly 
parted,  and  there  was  he  upon  the  bosom  of  a  storm- 
shrouded  lake,  in  a  leaky  half-appointed  craft,  laid  up 
perhaps  for  the  night.  His  rude  efforts  at  sculling 
were  aimless,  melancholy,  and  slow  ;  and  a  calculation 
of  the  respective  distances  from  his  position  of  different 
parts  of  the  shore,  which  he  could  still  dimly  distin 
guish,  brought  the  philosophical  conclusion  that  each 
of  them  was  a  little  more  remote  than  the  others. 

"  I  can't  tell  where  I  am.  If  I  had  a  match,  I 
would  smoke,"  said  he.  "  But  as  it  is,  I  don't  see  that 
I  shall  have  any  other  means  of  passing  the  coming 
night,  than  such  alternate  amusement  as  bailing  and 
reflection  may  afford.  I  could  try  my  lord  Byron's 
feat,  but  it  would  be  an  ignominious  ending  to  bring 
up  in  the  mud-flats,  instead  of  the  pebbly  shore.  I 
have  been  a  fool  several  times  in  my  life.  This  is  an 
addition  to  the  number  of  infatuated  epochs." 

The  distant,  dim  blackness  of  the  mountains  was  now 
shut  out  by  the  clouds,  which  seemed  to  have  been  precip 
itated  upon  the  lake — mist,  fog,  and  rain  altogether.  For 


DINAII.  315 

about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  he  had  been  hoping  that 
the  evening  light  of  one  or  two  farm-houses  might  soon 
throw  their  faint  beams  through  the  fog  and  darkness, 
to  guide  his  irregular  way,  when  he  was  rejoiced  to 
observe  in  one  direction,  a  small  light,  as  if  his  hopes 
had  been  speedily  answered,  and  as  it  grew  upon  the 
darkness,  and  usurped  with  its  general  effulgence,  with 
out  a  seeming  nucleus,  a  portion  of  the  horizon,  he  saw 
that  it  was  no  light  from  a  household.  The  girl  had 
manifested  her  sense  by  lighting  a  beacon-fire  upon 
the  shore.  It  was  all  the  young  man  wanted.  He 
divested  himself  at  once  of  his  boots,  his  coat,  and  his 
cravat,  and  leaving  them  with  sentiments  of  cheer 
fulness  in  the  unmanageable  boat,  plunged  into  the 
waves  and  struck  out  boldly  in  the  direction  of  the 
illumination.  He  could  vie  at  swimming  with  the 
latest  invented  fish  of  the  imagination,  possessing  three 
banks  of  fins,  (thirty-eight  on  a  .side,)  and  felt  that  his 
distance  from  the  light  could  not  be  over  a  mile. 

But  the  maiden  replenished  the  sacred  fire  for  the 
swimming  god  several  times  ere  he  struck  the  shore, 
and  when  he  did  so,  he  made  a  mechanical  attempt 
to  bow  himself  on  his  knees,  to  thank  One  superior  to 
all,  and  he  fell  senseless  upon  the  pebbles. 

What  occurred  within  the  next  three  or  four  min 
utes,  he  knew  not ;  but  there  was  a  little  Herculean 
maiden,  who  dragged  him  in  her  energy  like  a  dead  ox, 
to  the  fire — who  chafed  his  limbs,  wiped  the  resulting 
blood  of  his  folly  from  his  nostrils,  and  placing  her  warm 
lips  against  his,  breathed  into  his  mouth.  He  turned 
wearily  as  lie  revived,  and  saw  bent  over  him  a  noble 
face,  expressive  of  a  natural  soul,  and  the  full  large  eyes 


316  DINAH. 

which  had  been  looking  wistfully  into  his  own,  were 
filled  with  a  brighter  light. 

"  You  don't  know  what  I  was  thinking  of,  when  I 
had  to  pull  the  water  about  my  ears  in  that  absurd 
manner  out  there,"  said  he,  emiling  feebly  after  some 
time  of  silence. 

He  had  thought,  as  his  consciousness  spent  before 
his  energies,  that  in  vain  had  the  young  maiden  tried 
to  save  him  from  the  evil,  jealous  powers  of  an  en 
chantment  with  which  he  was  interfering. 

"  It  is  an  easy,  slipping-down  kind  of  action  when 
one  commences  to  drown,  isn't  it  ?  "  said  the  girl. 

The  fire  burnt  up  brightly  in  spite  of  the  industrious 
rain.  His  head  was  sustained  against  her  bosom,  and 
they  were  both  as  wet  as  two  drowned  butterflies. 

"  I  made  eleven  distinct  and  consecutive  efforts," 
continued  he,  "  eleven  of  them  !  "Why  should  such  a 
useless  dog  as  I  am  be  spared,"  continued  he,  turning 
his  eyes  feebly  up  to  hers  in  his  weakness. 

"  I  don't  know,  unless  you  were  born  to  be  hung,  I 
suppose." 

"  There  is  such  plain  common  sense  about  you,  I 
like  you,"  said  the  weak  young  man.  "  That  is  what 
I  call  sensible  talk." 

Though  she  now  appeared  as  composed  and  gentle 
as  ever,  Charles  noticed  that  she  bent  over  carefully 
to  shelter  his  face  from  the  drops  and  spray-driving 
drizzle  of  the  rain.  His  shirt  had  been  spread  open,  dis 
playing  a  manly  chest,  and  she  pulled  it  together. 

The  old  father  and  the  negro  had  returned,  and 
directed  by  the  partial  intelligence  of  the  old  lady,  and 
by  the  light  of  the  fire,  the  colored  man  soon  reached 
the  two  thus  seated  upon  the  shore. 


DINAH.  317 

The  young  man  rose  after  a  while,  and  leaning 
upon  the  stout  negro,  both  of  them  pretty  decent 
Apollos,  a  "black  one  and  a  white  one,  walked  slowly 
amid  the  rain  over  the  dank  grass,  or  through  the 
little  running  torrents  on  the  road,  treading  on  the 
soaked  chips  and  fallen  twigs  from  the  trees,  Dinah 
leading  the  way  in  front  with  a  fire-brand.  It  illumi 
nated  for  a  while  her  solemn  face,  which  appeared  un 
usually  serious,  despite  the  pretty  lines  of  roundness 
which  her  wet  hair  brought  over  her  shoulders  pro 
duced. 


CHAPTEK    XLYII. 

DINAH     CONFESSES     HER     LOVE. 

CHARLES  thought  it  rational  to  remain  at  the  negro 
cottage  that  night,  and  retiring  to  a  neat  bed  with  clean 
linen,  slept  soundly  until  the  morrow.  His  constitution 
was  a  strong  one,  and  the  physical  results  of  his  adven 
ture,  if  any  lingered,  were  soon  made  a  matter  of  pri 
vate  attention  solely. 

In  the  morning  he  bade  a  temporary  farewell  to  the 
humble  but  hospitable  abode,  and  repaired  leisurely  to 
his  own  dwelling.  Here  he  recounted  to  his  mother 
and  aunt  the  singular  mishap  which  had  occurred  to 
him,  not  without  obeying,  however,  an  inclination 
which  he  had,  to  conceal  certain  parts  thereof  as  un 
necessary  to  the  narrative.  He  then  discovered  to 
them  the  extraordinary  developments  which  had  been 
made  by  the  girl  of  her  relationship  with  the  Pompney 
family,  and  of  the  flaw  in  the  record.  They  were 


318  DINAH. 

overcome  with  astonishment  thereat,  and  the  aunt,  after 
many  confirmatory  memories  of  Pompney,  joined  with 
Charles  in  approval  of  the  girl's  final  conduct,  and 
urged  the  immediate  recording  of  the  old  deed,  which 
had  been  produced  for  inspection.  But  it  was  far  other 
wise  with  the  mother.  She  coldly  intimated  that  she 
saw  no  other  feature  in  this  divulgement,  even  were  it 
reliable,  than  an  additional  evidence  of  the  wiliness  of 
the  girl,  who  had  evidently  reasoned  that  this  was  the 
most  she  could  do,  as  she  had  failed  in  abstracting  it, 
and  had  no  further  opportunity  of  doing  so.  Although 
he  rejected  it,  this  theory  struck  coldness  to  Charles's 
heart,  for  it  seemed  to  discover  a  certain  fixed  antipathy 
in  his  mother's  bosom  towards  the  girl. 

Charles  soon  drove  to  Miss  "Wellwood's  residence, 
and  narrated  to  her  his  latest  experience  with  Dinah. 
His  affection  for  Laura  mounted  the  higher  as  she  gave 
token  of  her  sympathy  with  him  in  thought  and  feeling 
upon  this  subject.  She  approved  his  plans  of  assisting 
the  girl  in  her  evident  efforts  towards  self-rescue  from 
the  miseries  of  poverty  and  dishonor. 

"  Why  not  have  her  put  in  as  mistress  of  the  north 
district  school ;  the  present  mistress  is  going  away  in 
two  weeks,  and  the  selectmen  are  soon  to  have  a  meet 
ing,  to  appoint  another !  But  that,  perhaps,  would  be 
wrong.  The  neighbors  would  certainly  make  an  outcry 
against  the  girl  because  she  is  the  daughter  of  a  crim 
inal." 

"  Let  them,"  said  Charles,  writh  symptoms  of  gall ; 
"  I  don't  believe  in  this  hunting  of  the  innocent  for 
the  crimes  of  others  !  I  will  do  it." 

"  But  then  if  she  should  happen  to  be  — "  said 
Laura,  hesitatingly. 


DINAH.  319 

Charles  thought  in  a  moment  of  the  girl's  relations 
with  the  young  man,  Rudolph,  which  had  been  unex 
plained  by  her.  "  She  is  pure,"  thought  he,  "  and  she 
cannot  love  him,  but  she  still  receives  his  visits." 

"Whether  Laura's  doubt  was  the  result  of  a  woman's 
weakness,  '(and  a  man's  too,  for  that  matter,)  which  she 
could  not  resist,  or  whether  it  was  caused  by  a  just  sense 
of  the  right  of  the  mothers  and  fathers  of  young  chil 
dren,  it  had  the  effect  upon  Charles  again  to  reconsider 
the  problem  of  the  girl's  character  with  suspicion  of  an 
error  in  his  conclusions,  but  for  a  moment  only.  "Was 
it  not  evident  that  Laura  had  cut  off  her  own  suspicions 
with  regard  to  Dinah,  not  rooted  them  out  of  her  bosom, 
for  otherwise  would  she  not  in  her  warmheartedness 
have  even  before  this,  proposed  the  taking  of  the 
young  girl  into  her  own  household  ?  No ;  perhaps  a 
deference  to  the  mother's  opinions  had  prevented  her. 

"  At  any  rate,"  said  Laura,  "  it  is  our  duty  towards 
this  young  girl,  whether  she  loves  him  or  not,  to  dis 
tract  her  attention  from  this  neighbor  of  ours,  for  even 
were  he  to  marry  her,  her  happiness  would  be  as  short 
lived  as  his  sensual  passion."  The  little  parenthetical 
doubt  of  the  existence  of  Dinah's  love  towards  Rudolph 
was  a  singular  matter  of  satisfaction  to  Charles,  for  it 
temporarily  drove  8, way  a  growing  fear. 

It  pleased  him  thus  to  have  a  common  object  with 
Laura,  for  the  exercise  of  the  finer  feelings  of  human 
nature  in  his  fixed  intimacy  with  her,  and  he  started 
off  to  visit  the  girl  again  with  his  mind  filled  with  her 
suggestions. 

The  scenery  about  the  old  negro  house,  the  natural 
music  of  the  forest,  and  the  odors  of  the  humble  flowers, 
all  seemed  to  him  to  belong  to  the  young  girl.  The 


320  DIN  All. 

old  unreservedness  and  natural  trust  appeared  again  to 
characterize  their  conversation,  and  he  even  began  to 
blame  her  in  a  ludicrous  manner,  as  having  been  the 
wrong  one  in  the  quarrel. 

There  was  an  unusual  expression  of  sadness  about 
her  mouth ;  then  she  finally  said,  "  I  shall  be  grateful 
to  you  forever  for  your  kindness  to  me.  I  cannot  re 
pay  it  now,  and  yet  I  must — I  must  go  away  from 
here." 

He  felt  a  chill  from  her  very  earnestness,  and  after 
a  moment  he  asked  in  a  tone  of  kind  deprecation : 
"  Why  do  you  wish  to  go  away,  Dinah  ?  " 

"  I  pray  you  do  not  ask  me  now.  It  must  be  my 
own  secret.  Yes,  no  one  has  a  right  to  demand  it  of 
me.  I  would  not  displease  you,  or  throw  away  the 
kindness  which  you  have  bestowed  upon  me,  but — " 

"  Come,  Dinah,  tell  me." 

"  I  cannot — cannot,"  said  she,  with  a  blush. 

"  But  you  must.  I  do  not  like  to  wait,"  said  he, 
even  with  a  slight  air  of  irritation.  "  Dinah,  you  must 
not  destroy  the  confiding  interest  which  Laura  and  I 
have  united  in  bestowing  upon  you.  It  is  now  even  a 
part  of  our  happiness  to — •" 

The  girl  concealed  her  agitation  with  a  master 
effort.  "  Indeed,  indeed,  I  would  love  to  tell  it  to  her," 
said  she  in  a  passion,  "  and  why  should  I  not  to  you  ? 
Yes,  I  will  reveal  my  folly.  It  is  a  girl's  romance,  and 
will  you  not  respect  me  if  I  but  tell  you  that  there  is 
one  to  whom  nature  has  given  a  power  over  my  feel 
ings,  which  I  can  hardly  define  ?  Oh,  sir,  I  shall  always 
hear  the  sweet  sound  of  his  coming  step  in  memory  as 
long  as  I  live.  I  shall  always  see  his  smile,  and  even 
when  his  voice  has  been  raised  in  bitterness  and  irrita- 


DINAH.  321 

tion  towards  me,  it  has  startled  echoes  in  my  heart 
which  will  never  die.  I  love  him,  I  love  him  !  "  She 
paused  for  a  moment,  and  recklessly  gave  herself  up  to 
an  emotion  which  she  cared  not  to  conceal. 

"  Dinah,"  said  Charles,  in  a  low,  trembling  voice, 
"  your  pure  attachment  should  bless  this  being  and  bring 
happiness  to  you." 

"  Oh,  sir,  but  will  you  respect  me  if  I  tell  you  that 
its  revelation  to  him  would  be  but  to  incite  him  to  out 
rage  the  laws  of  society,  of  honor  ?  JSTever  can  it  be. 
The  torment  of  its  concealment  shall  be  my  happiness." 

("  Its  revelation  to  him  would — what  folly  is  this  of 
mine  ?  She  loves  him.  His  locket  upon  her  neck,  the 
stolen  meetings,  and  now  at  last  she  confesses  her  love  for 
the  miserable  Rudolph  !)  But,  Dinah,  would  you  nurse 
a  passion  which  would  be  criminal  in  its  hope  ? "  ex 
claimed  Charles,  with  the  bitternes^  of  an  honest  heart. 

"  Criminal  !  yes,  it  is  criminal,"  continued  she, 
overpowered  with  self-reproach. 

("  Thank  God  !  she  sees  his  miserable  sensuality ; 
and  though  she  loves  him,  would  shield  her  honor  with 
the  robe  of  Nessus,  with  the  wretchedness  of  despair.") 

"  Let  me  say  no  more,"  said  the  girl,  standing  erect 
as  if  recovering  herself.  "You  will  spurn  me  from 
your  good  esteem  with  scorn  and  contempt  even  if  I 
stay  here,  and  I  wish  to  go  away  from  hither  for  ever." 

"  ~No,  Dinah,  no !  it  shall  not  be  so,"  said  the 
young  man.  "  I  am  older  than  you,  and  believe  my 
experience  in  the  philosophy  of  our  feelings,  that  there 
is  no  grief  so  profound,  nor  misfortune  so  great,  that 
reason  cannot  soften  the  one  and  overcome  the  other. 
Banish  from  your  being  the  sentiments  which  are  your 
misery  while  concealed,  and  would  be  your  dishonor  if 
14* 


322  DIN  An. 

gratified.  But  fly  not  his  presence  ;  I  will  be  your  aid 
and  counsel,  in  combating  your  own  unhappy  love, 
and  here  you  may  have  one  to  whom  to  fly  when  you 
are  driven  by  your  misery  to  wish  for  your  dishonor. 
Dinah,  I  was  an  insensate,  a  fool,  when  I  once  insulted 
you  with  my  evil  suspicions  of  your  purity  and  youth, 
but  do  not  for  that  think  I  can  ever  again  suspect  your 
honor.  Stay  here,  and  you  shall  have  a  protector  in 
me  from  yourself,  and  in  my  family  from  the  world." 

The  degradation  of  the  girl's  name  may  have  once 
had  its  weight  with  his  interest  in  her,  but  it  never 
pressed  so  heavily  upon  his  heart  as  seemed  now  to 
him  this  revelation  of  her  infatuation.  And  why  did 
he  suddenly  feel  that  it  was  not  love  he  bore  Miss  Well- 
wood?  Even  then,  perhaps,  was  his  protegee  prais 
ing  God  for  the  approaching  blessing  to  him  and  to 
Laura. 


CHAPTEE    XLYIII. 

DINAH      IS     APPOINTED      SCHOOLMISTRESS. 

THE  selectmen  of  the  town  of  Templeville  sat  in 
solemn  silence,  like  the  Koman  senators  awaiting  the 
Gauls,  while  Nat  explained  to  them  the  fitness  of  the 
young  girl  to  take  care  of  the  young,  from  the  purity 
of  her  heart,  the  fineness  of  her  intellect,  and  particu 
larly  a  peculiar  amount  of  patience,  all  of  which  were 
vouched  for  by  the  richest  and  most  powerful  of  the 
neighbors,  the  young  master  of  Pompney  Place.  They 


DINAH.  323 

had  held  a  secret  consultation  in  executive  session, 
and,  headed  by  Pithkin,  were  unanimously  in  favor 
of  rejecting  her  claims  to  the  humble  place  for  which 
her  name  Avas  proposed,  when  Nat  mentioned  the 
desire  of  the  family  at  Pompney  Place  in  connection 
with  this  matter.  The  result  was.  that,  headed  by 
Pithkin  again,  they  turned  around  and,  giving  an 
unanimous  vote  in  her  favor,  rushed  hurriedly  home 
to  tell  their  wives.  "  The  daughter  of  a  criminal !  " 
Sometime  afterwards,  it  was  found  that  one  of  the  se 
lectmen  had  been  confined  in  his  garret  in  a  faint  con 
dition,  from  a  continuous  deprivation  of  food  for  a 
week  after  this  event.  The  indignation  of  his  spouse 
having  continued  for  that  length  of  time,  he  was  re 
leased  with  an  indelible  impression  created  in  his  being 
that  an  elephant  resided  in  the  pit  of  his  stomach.  This, 
however,  was  about  all  the  harm  that  was  done  by  this 
appointment,  for  by  the  conspiracy  of  Nat  and  Charles, 
and  the  unconscious  aid  of  the  great  Pithkin,  the  town 
was  speedily  overwhelmed  with  such  an  amount  of 
public  opinion  manufactured  in  favor  of  the  new  ap 
pointee,  that  the  lady  aforesaid  seriously  contemplated 
adding  another  animal  to  her  unfortunate  husband's  in 
ternal  menagerie,  by  incarcerating  him  again,  because 
he  said  he  was  sorry  ! 

Charles  alluded  to  their  success,  in  a  conversation 
which  he  subsequently  had  with  Judge  Pithkin,  on 
inviting  him  to  dinner. 

"  Yes,  they  seldom  repent  of  having  taken  my  ad 
vice,"  said  the  judge.  "  More  particularly  when  I'm 
wrong,  for  then  they  can  lay  all  the  blame  on  me." 

After  paying  himself  this  extraordinary  tribute,  he 
looked  forcibly  at  the  young  man,  who  immediately 


324:  DINAH. 

thanked  him  heartily  for  executing  his  wishes  in  this 
matter. 

"  Certainly,  I  can  afford  to  be  magnanimous  !  She 
laughed  at  me  once  when  I  was  tipped  out  of  a  buggy 
head  foremost ;  but  all  I  want  is  your  friendship,  grat 
itude,  and  a  pinch  of  snuff." 

Charles  went  over  to  the  negro  cottage  the  next 
day,  to  inform  Dinah  of  her  appointment,  and  it  was 
the  first  she  heard  of  it.  In  a  moment  she  seemed  to 
comprehend  his  delicate  •  generosity,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  delicate  position  in  which  she  was  placed 
towards  the  villagers  by  his  endeavors  thus  to  remove 
from  her  the  stigma  of  social  degradation.  She  mur 
mured  something  about  "  one  having  such  generosity 
in  his  bosom  must  have  many  other  virtues  there  to 
keep  it  company." 

"  I  wish  this  action  would  tell  you,  Dinah,"  said  he, 
"  that  I  am  the  best  friend  you  have  ;  and  yet  I  know 
I  am  a  better  friend  to  myself  than  to  you  when  I  aid 
you,  for — " 

"  You  can  ever  accuse  yourself  of  selfishness,"  said 
Dinah,  "  but  if  the  world  is  to  judge  of  your  friendship, 
it  will  only  convict  you  of  a  misapplication  of  it,  I 
guess." 

"  For  shame,  Dinah ;  when  you  were  a  dependent 
you  didn't  dare  say  that.  Now  you  are  your  own  mis 
tress,  you  can  plague  me  by  depreciating  your  own 
right." 

There  seemed  something  after  all  sorrowful  in  the 
young  girl's  countenance,  and  in  spite  of  the  sincerity 
with  which  she  quietly  expressed  to  him  her  gratitude 
on  account  of  herself  and  her  father,  there  appeared  to 
be  this  melancholy  air  about  her,  as  if  revealing  a  resig- 


DINAH.  325 

nation  to  a  presentiment  within.  "What  was  it  that 
struck  his  soul  too,  other  than  an  indefinable  feeling  of 
some  unhappiness  which  was  near  him  and  her  ?  "Was 
it  not  rather  the  putting  to  death,  by  the  order  of  potent 
common  sense,  the  criminal  thoughts  which  were  rioting 
in  his  mind  like  bacchanals  around  his  drunken  will, 
and  which  led  it  on  in  intoxicated  infatuation  to  the 
violation  of  his  duties  towards  himself,  society,  his 
mother,  to  Laura,  and  even  to  the  girl  herself;  the 
hopes  of  his  mother,  the  love  of  Laura,  the  demands  of 
society,  the  avowal  of  the  girl's  attachment  to  another, 
the  stain  upon  her  name.  They  were  all  stern  thoughts, 
but  one  was  more  powerful  than  all  the  rest  to  scare  the 
joyous  band  of  revellers  from  his  bosom,  and  sober  his 
will.  It  was  the  embassador  to  his  mind  of  the  girl's 
avowed  love  for  another.  He  thought  of  the  worthless 
wretch  upon  whom  she  bestowed  her  love.  Dinah  saw 
his  melancholy  irritation.  But  she  always  forgave  and 
passed  over  any  impatient  petulance  on  his  part,  for 
she  seemed  instinctively  to  know  how  impossible  it  is 
to  supply  wants  as  fast  as  an  idle  imagination  may  be 
able  to  demand  them,  or  to  remove  inconveniences  by 
which  elegance,  refined  into  fastidiousness,  may  be 
offended  in  the  circumstances  of  the  hour. 

The  bushes  were  gtill  filled  with  unfolding  buds  of 
the  prairie  rose,  and  the  air  was  perfumed  with  their 
delicate  fragrance.  As  he  came  up,  he  had  plucked 
one  from  the  hedge  and  given  it  to  her,  and  she 
held  it  in  her  hand  as  she  sat  by  him  on  the  rustic  seat. 
Soon,  while  speaking  of  her  new  relations  with  the 
school,  he  referred  to  his  coming  absence  from  the 
neighborhood,  upon  a  proposed  visit  to  the  "White 
Hills,  and  when  she  asked  him  if  he  would  return 


326  DINAH. 

soon,  there  was  a  wistfulness  in  her  face,  which  was 
sententious.  The  air  of  the  evening  was  too  bracing 
to  the  thin  blood  coursing  slowly  in  the  veins  of  sucli 
as  the  old  father,  who  was  now  by  the  side  of  the 
kitchen  fire,  in  company  with  the  old  lady  and  Tip, 
but  the  young  blood  of  his  daughter  and  her  benefactor 
was  hardly  touched  by  it.  In  the  distance,  by  the  neat 

barn,  the  colored  head  of  the  house  had  finished  his  lac- 

l 

teal  operations,  and  left  the  large  pan  of  milk  resting 

upon  a  bench  without,  while  engaged  in  throwing  down 
a  slight  October  repast  to  the  milky  mother. 

A  calf  was  wandering  in  antics  upon  the  open  sward, 
and  had  twice  been  driven  away  from  the  glowing  pan 
by  the  uncalculating  negro,  when  Dinah,  placing  the 
rose  in  her  bosom,  ran  to  bring  it  to  the  house. 
Charles  followed  her  down,  and  as  he  met  her  with 
the  milk,  refreshed  the  bitterness  that  was  within  him 
by  suddenly  uttering,  in  affected  indifference,  a  half- 
muttered  allusion  to  women  and  their  love.  Dinah 
looked  at  him  incredulously,  and,  with  an  air  of  mo 
mentary  superiority  or  pity,  exculpated,  whitewashed, 
and  acquitted  him  from  his  own  immediate  judg'ment, 
by  honeyed  words  of  gentle  reasoning  upon  his  own 
nature,  which  she  said  was  so  much  like  a  woman's. 
The  rampant  calf  had  rushed  at  the  rose  hedge,  and 
commenced  to  demolish  a  bush  in  an  attempt  to  get  at 
a  green  pumpkin  behind. 

"  Chase  him. !  "  said  the  girl. 

"  No,"  said  Charles,  "  the  thorns  will  drive  him 
off." 

"  Chase  him,  or  hold  the  pan,"  said  she,  stamping 
her  little  foot. 

"  Eh  ?  I'll  hold  the  pan."     He  was  very  lazy. 


DINAH.  327 

"  You  have  spilt  the  milk  !  "  said  she,  on  returning 
from  the  pursuit. 

"  So  I  have,  by  Jove  !  "  said  he,  in  an  humble  way. 

A  confusion  of  thought  had  suddenly  come  over  her, 
and  she  trembled  as  she  took  the  pan  to  carry  it  to  the 
house.  He  saw  not  the  tear  that  dropped  upon  her 
cheek  as  she  went,  and  when  she  returned  she  said,  "  I 
beg  your  pardon."  Perhaps  he  had  seemed  so  much 
like  a  brother  to  her,  she  had  forgotten  for  a  moment 
the  distance  between  them. 

"  Dinah,  you  insult  me  by  your  thought,"  said 
Charles,  in  a  lively  manner ;  "  and  when  a  woman  in 
sults  a  man,  you  remember  what  you  told  me  her  pun 
ishment  should  be."  He  tried  to  kiss  her,  but  in  the 
midst  of  her  confusion,  she  showed  her  loyal  heart  to 
him  and  his  duties  to  another.  Although  she  did  not 
allude  to  Laura,  he  was  reminded  by  her  look,  and  a 
deep  shade  of  melancholy  passed  over  his  countenance. 
She  looked  into  his  face  piercingly. 

"  It  is  right,  Dinah,"  said  he.  But  why,  in  the 
tumult  of  his  actions,  had  he  seized  a  little  bow  that 
had  fallen  from  her  neck,  and  thrust  it  into  his  bosom, 
and  why  did  he  give  himself  up  to  sweet  reflections  as 
he  left  her  ? 

"  Oh  !  can  it  be  that  she  loves  not  this — but  let  me 
think.  Her  hand  trembled  when  I  .bade  her  adieu, 
and  to  the  rose  I  gave  her,  she  once  seemed  to  bow  her 
lips,  when  she  thought  I  saw  her  not." 


328  DINAH. 


CHAPTEE   XLIX. 

SINGULAR    INCIDEXTS. 

NAT  was  returning  from  a  visit  to  Miss  "Wellwood. 
She  had  asked  a  favor  of  him  !  The  young  lady  had 
observed  that  the  overseer  Baylou  was  frequently  tor 
menting  Dinah  by  his  presence,  probably  on  account 
of  the  relations  of  his  employer  Rudolph ;  and  although 
the  girl  laughed  it  off,  had  asked  Nat  to  investigate  the 
matter,  and  immediately  commenced  to  abuse  him,  to 
conceal  her  pleasure  at  his  alacrity. 

"  This  mission  shows  her  kindness,"  reflected  Nat 
as  he  proceeded  along  -the  road ;  "  but  she  certainly 
intrusted  me  with  it,  something  in  the  way  in  which 
the  great  Mogul  treats  his  embassador  to  a  foreign 
country.  He  vituperates  him  before  he  goes,  and 
apologizes  for  it,  by  stating  he  may  forget  it  after  he 
returns.  I've  a  good  notion  not  to  do  it.  However,  I 
suppose  I  must." 

"  There  goes  the  rascal  now !  "  he  exclaimed,  as  he 
suddenly  descried  the  overseer  walking  in  the  middle 
of  an  open  field  of  short  grass  adjacent.  "  By  George  ! 
I  will  commence  at  once  to  watch  him.  Perhaps  he 
may  have  come  out  here  to  cut  his  throat,  which  will 
be  an  agreeable  sight,  and  will  repay  me  for  my  tem 
porary  delay." 

He  looked  again  into  the  field.  There  was  no  over 
seer  there  !  He  rubbed  his  eyes  and  looked  again.  On 
the  distant  side,  were  four  cows  slowly  emanating  from 
a  wood.  They  were  the  only  living  creatures  to  be 
seen.  Such  a  singular  impossible  disappearance  had 


DINAH.  329 

the  usual  effect  upon  him.  He  commenced  to  philoso 
phize  ;  that  is,  he  began  to  wonder,  which  is  the  first 
step  therein,  but  he  did  not  get  any  farther.  Over 
whelmed  with  astonishment,  he  turned  immediately, 
and  rushed  back  to  Laura  in  breathless  haste. 

"  Why  didn't  you  stop  and  investigate  the  matter  ?  " 
asked  she,  also  in  astonishment. 

"  It  was  so  extraordinary,  I  couldn't  keep  it  for  that 
length  of  time !  There  is  no  doubt  about  it,  he  is  a 
villain  endowed  by  Satan  with  the  supernatural  power 
of  disappearing  from  the  presence  of  others  !  " 

"  Other  villains  ?  It  is  certainly  remarkable.  There 
was  no  place  he  could  conceal  himself?  No  tree — 
no—" 

"None!" 


"  Curse  her !  "  soliloquized  Baylon.  "  They  might 
have  got  the  property,  and  I  might  have  got  it  from 
them,  if  I  had  only  had  any  power  over  her  then  !  I 
am  going  to  drrro  her  off."  However,  the  inarm  can 
do  it,  I  guess !  He !  he !  There  is  more  drudgery 
for  the  proud  lady.  What  the  son  does,  she  will 
patiently  undo.  I  hate  'em  all.  Go  to  the  devil 
everybody !  " 

He  was  exasperated  at  the  young  maiden,  and  now 
proposed  paying  her  a  visit.  This  time  on  meeting  her 
as  she  was  walking  towards  home  from  her  labors  in 
the  town,  he  was  no  longer  enabled  to  assume  -the 
mask  of  friendship ;  yet  furious  as  he  was  there  was 
something  else  besides  his  knowledge  of  Charles's  in 
terest  in  her,  which  made  him  refrain  from  threatening 
her  as  he  wished.  It  was  in  silence  that  he  listened  to 


330  DINAH. 

her  words,  which  pleaded  with  him,  not  for  herself,  but 
for  his  sake.  And  while  she  still  scornfully  warned  him 
that  his  persecution  would  recoil  upon  himself,  she 
begged  him  to  become  a  good  man,  and  brightened  into 
the  eloquence  which  comes  of  that  fulness  of  heart 
which  a  superior  being  feels  towards  an  inferior  he 
must  pity,  while  he  despises ;  for  even  such  lofty 
friendship  towards  this  man  appeared  then  to  fill  her 
breast,  in  the  hope  that  he  would  reform  his  plan.  His 
tendency  towards  the  humorous,  which  seemed  to  have 
been  given  to  him  as  the  only  successful  method  by 
which  he  was  permitted  to  gratify  his  hatred  towards 
virtue  or  sacred  things,  did  not  fail  to  assert  itself 
after  he  left  her  presence.  "  She  no  doubt,"  said  he, 
"  cried  for  Christ  when  .she  was  an  infant !  I  must  to 
chapel." 

While  walking  across  the  fields  on  uncertain  legs, 
at  a  certain  point  therein,  a  new  freak  took  possession 
of  those  maniac  members.  They  went  into  the  earth 
with  lightning-like  rapidity.  Thought  is  quicker  than 
lightning,  and  he  proposed  to  let  them  go.  But  as  he 
recollected  with  horror  that  his  body  would  in  all  prob 
ability  follow,  taking  with  it  his  individuality,  he  made 
a  convulsive  grasp  at  something  which  spanned  the 
abyss.  Had  the  earth  yawned  at  last  to  swallow  him 
up  ?  Four  cows,  followed  by  the  innocent  Gluckinson, 
were  wending  their  way  slowly  in  the  field  from  a  dis 
tant  wood. 

The  overseer  drew  himself  up  after  the  manner  of 
the  gymnastic  scholar  with  the  horizontal  bar,  so  that 
his  top-knot  projected  above  the  infernal  shaft,  which 
bore  a  remarkable  likeness  to  some  old,  disused  well. 
He  gave  a  terrible  yell,  and  immediately  disappeared. 


DINAH/  331 

The  youth  stopped  his  whistling,  and  looked  with  as 
tonishment  into  a  cloud  just  over  him.  A  repetition  of 
the  cry  directed  his  attention  and  footsteps  to  the  aper 
ture*  to  the  lower  world,  upon  the  brink  of  which  the 
unfortunate  Obadiah  hung. 

"  Oh,  help  me,  for  God's  sake !  "  said  the. latter,  with 
another  desperate  tug  at  the  beam. 

"  Hallo !  is  that  you  ? "  asked  the  youth,  in  an  easy, 
affable  manner. 

"  Good  God  !  what  a  question.     Help  me,  quick !  " 

James  appeared  lost  for  the  moment  in  a  profound 
philosophical  revery. 

"  Damn  you  !  "  roared  the  convulsed  Baylon,  in  his 
fearful  peril.  "  I'll  lick  you  like  the  devil — Oh,  dear 
Mr.  Gluckinson  for  God's  sake — I'll  give  you  money — 
any  thing — fifty  cents — a  new  hat — any  thing  !  It's 
deep.  I  can't  see  the  bottom,  and  I  can't  hold  on 
much  longer.  Damn  you !  Don't  you  see  you  are 
committing  murder,  you  murderous  jackass  !  I'll  have 
you  indicted  for  murder,  you  infernal  scoundrel. 
Heaven  will  bless  you,  my  dear  friend,  give  me  your 
hand !  " 

The  young  man  smiled  a  demoniac  smile,  and  with 
a  yell  of  agony,  the  wretched  overseer  relaxed  in  faint- 
ness  his  hold. 

For  two  or  three  days  after  this,  the  youth  Gluckin 
son  was  accustomed  to  steal  out  of  the  house  at  a  cer- 
tian  hour,  with  small  articles  of  nourishment,  and  dis 
appear  in  the  adjoining  scenery.  However,  at  the  end 
of  that  period,  feeling  that  the  habit  was  observed,  he 
was  forced,  apparently  against  his  will,  to  cease  the 
practice.  Soon  after  that,  a  great  excitement  was 
caused  in  the  neighborhood,  and  much  alarm  among 


332  "DINAH. 

his  friends,  by  the  unexpected  absence  of  the  young 
lawyer,  Mr.  Bonney,  from  the  village  and  from  many 
important  engagements  which  he  had  contracted.  At 
the  moment  of  continued  suspense,  when  an  imme 
diate  search  had  been  resolved  upon,  he  suddenly 
re-appeared  with  mysteriously  soiled  and  torn  vest 
ments,  and  without  any  shirt  whatever.  Singular  to 
say,  it  was  about  the  same  time  that  the  overseer  Bay- 
Ion,  who  had  not  been  seen  for  some  time,  also  made 
his  appearance  in  a  similar  state,  but  with  the  addition 
of  a  remarkable  emaciation  of  person,  and  a  peculiar 
blood-shot  appearance  about  the  eyes,  as  if  he  had  been 
drawn  out  of  some  place  legs  foremost,  with  a  rope. 
In  answer  to  questions  respecting  this  singular  matter, 
the  young  lawyer  seemed  disposed  to  maintain  a  strict 
silence,  and  between  him  and  the  overseer,  there  ap 
peared  some  mysterious  subject  of  common  thought. 
which  they  were  not  disposed  to  allude  to  in  public. 

As  a  general  thing,  ~Nai  was  remarkably  unfor 
tunate  in  accomplishing  the  wishes  of  Miss  Wellwood, 
However,  in  spite  of  fortune,  he  ever  had  the  same  will 
to  persist. 


CHAPTER   L. 

ON    A    VISIT    TO    THE    WHITE    HILLS. 

A  PAETY  had  been  made  up  to  visit  the  "White 
Mountains  at  the  most  beautiful  season  of  the  year, 
when  nature  puts  on  her  gaudiest  attire,  like  a  desperate 
coquette,  whose  season  is  over. 


DINAH.  333 

It  was  on  this  tour  that  Charles  resolved  to  divulge 
to  Laura  the  fact  that  he  loved  her  not,  and  had  been 
guilty  of  deception  and  dishonor  in  inducing  her. to 
bestow  her  affections  upon  him,  when  he  knew  they 
could  not  be  returned.  He  felt  the  stain,  and  though 
he  was  conscious  of  his  coming  degradation,  he  chose 
shame  in  preference  to  a  life-long  lie  upon  his  part,  or 
misery  upon  hers.  "  But  alas  !  she  loves  me !  And  I 
have  fanned  that  flame  by  my  own  folly.  Is  it  not  my 
duty  to  sacrifice  my  own  happiness  by  retaining  the 
secret  forever  in  my  bosom  ?  No,  I  cannot.  Sooner 
or  later  the  energy  of  duty  would  fail  me,  and  then 
when  it  is  too  late,  she  would  discover  my  fatal 
hypocrisy !  " 

The  party  consisted  of  Charles's  mother,  Laura, 
Squire  Well  wood,  and  himself.  The  aunt  having  de 
clined,  as  Judge  Pithkin  represented  his  inability  to 
leave,  Squire  Wellwood  proposed  that  an  invitation 
should  be  extended  to  his  friend,  Nathaniel  Bonney ; 
but  his  daughter  seeming  enraged  thereat,  he  concluded 
not  to  promulgate  it. 

On  the  way  to  the  mountains,  time  and  again  the 
young  man  reflected  upon  his  false  position  towards 
the  sweet  and  unsuspecting  girl,  and  hated  himself. 
On  these  occasions,  he  seated  himself  by  the  side  of 
the  squire,  and  listened  in  silence  to  his  partially  re 
lated  anecdotes.  He  wished  that  their  pastor,  Dr. 
Tuffles,  could  have  accompanied  them,  for  he  longed 
for  some  one  to  whose  sympathy  he  might  open  his 
bosom  in  confidence.  Still  he  knew  that  it  was  with 
out  aid  that  he  had  to  undergo  the  task  of  rendering 
an  innocent  girl  unhappy,  to  save  her  from  the  double 
condition  of  misery  and  servitude. 


834:  DINAH. 

They  visited  the  various  localities,  which  the  tourist 
does  not  generally  select,  and  Charles's  homage  to  na 
ture  was  colored  with  the  sense  of  unworthiness  of  the 
religious  Hindoo.  Returning,  they  crossed  into  the 
territory  of  Yermont,  and  reached,  after  much  molesta 
tion  from  the  hospitality  of  the  generous  inhabitants,  a 
notable  summer  resort,  situated  amid  a  group  of  wood- 
encircled  lakes,  upon  the  New  York  boundary  thereof. 

It  was  at  this  hotel,  long  celebrated  in  the  stjige- 
driving  annals  of  times  gone  by,  that  they  stopped  to 
visit  the  lakes  in  the  environs,  and  enjoy  the  well- 
known  courtesy  of  the  affable  host ;  (of  whose  extraor 
dinary  politeness,  it  was  related  to  Squire  Wellwood 
by  an  admiring  neighbor,  that  having  discovered  a 
strange  dog,  on  one  occasion,  lying  upon  his  flower 
bed,  he  requested  him  to  leave  in  such  courteous  tones, 
that  the  dog  turned  over,  and  died  upon  the  spot  from 
remorse.)  Charles  and  Laura  taking  a  buck-board, 
(which  is  a  singular  vehicle,  especially  contrived  for 
ease  in  tipping  over,  belonging  particularly  to  this 
region,)  proposed  to  view  the  scenery  of  the  lake  Ilor- 
tonia  before  dinner. 

As  they  neared  the  lake,  Charles  reined  in  the 
horse.  Both  Laura  and  he  had  been  plunged  in  a 
profound  silence. 

"  Laura,"  said  he,  "  it  is  well  that  you  should  know 
me.  You  do  not.  You  have  not  studied  my  character 
enough,  and  I  would  not  take  advantage  of  your  affec 
tion  for  me  to  hide  my  faults  from  you  for  the  world." 

"  Eh  ?  "  said  Laura,  looking  inquisitively  at  him. 

"  You  do  not  know  it,  for  I  have  carefully  concealed 
it  from  you ;  but  a  terrible  irritability  has  lately  devel 
oped  itself  in  my  character,  which  often  leads  me  to  ab- 


DIN  An.  335 

solute  violence.  Such  is  my  rage,  would  you  think  it, 
that  I  often — I  often  wreak  my  vengeance  upon  un 
offending  pieces  of  furniture,  and  that,  too,  on  slight 
provocation,  such  as  the  absence  of  a  shirt  button  or — " 

"  Oh,  I  like  that !  Give  me  the  man  of  spirit !  The 
man  of  excitable  temperament,  whose  sensitive  organ 
ization  thus  vehemently  demonstrates  its  power.  None 
of  your  tame,  unresisting  pieces  of  clay.  I  am  so  glad 
you  told  me,  Charles." 

("  Eh  !  oh  dear !)  Yes,  yes.  I  thought  you  would 
be  gratified  with  that.  But  that  is  not  exactly  what 
I  wish  particularly  to  explain  to  you  in  my  character 
just  now.  You  will  be  surprised  when  I  divulge  it  to 
you,  and  I  here  beg  you  earnestly,  mention  not  to  a 
living  soul  the  fatal  infirmity.  I  am — I  am,"  continued 
he,  leaning  round  to  her  in  a  mysterious  manner,  and 
pointing  to  his  head,  "  at  times  I  am  weak  here  !  Be 
prudent  and  keep  it  secret ;  now  you  know  the  secret." 

"  "Why,  how  is  that,  Charles  ?    What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Well  may  you  ask  !  I  shut  myself  up  when  the 
fits  come  on.  But  enough  of  the  unhappy  subject. 
I  think  it  was  owing  to  having  been  hit  on  the  head  at 
school  when  I  was  a  boy,  and — " 

"  Oh  how  I  can  nurse  you  !  How  I  can  attend  to 
your  wants  in  those  moments  of  weakened  nature,  and 
cheer  you  by  my  presence  and  unceasing  attention." 

("  Heaven !  she  considers  the  ferocity  of  a  savage  an 
evidence  of  spirit,  and  idiocy  in  a  husband  an  agree 
able  dispensation  for  strengthening  the  wife's  love.  I 
am  reduced  to  having  an  incurable  ulcer  in  one  of  my 
legs.  Confound  it,  I  can't  go  that.  I'll  try  on  consti 
tutional  lameness.)  Your  generosity  merits  my  grati 
tude,  especially  in  this  particular  of  growing  imbecility, 


336  DINAII. 

of  a  tendency  towards  idiocy,  I  say,"  continued  he  in  a 
louder  tone.  "  Yet  knowing  as  I  do  that  you  might 
overlook  that  in  your  kindness  and  affection  towards 
me,  what  can  I  ask  of  you,  when  I  tell  you,  that  at  any 
moment  I  may  be  laid  up  for  years,  with  rheumatism 
in  my  chest !  " 

"  Oh,  that  is  nothing,  dear  Charlie  ;  when  you  are 
imbecile,  you  will  not  be  conscious  of  the  rheumatism, 
and  when  you  have  the  rheumatism  you  cannot  do  any 
harm  by  your  temper." 

("  It  is  of  no  use.  I  have  run  through  my  mental, 
moral,  and  physical  condition.  I  have  got  to  break  it 
to  her  !  )  My  dear  friend,"  said  he  after  some  moments 
of  pause,  with  his  lips  slightly  compressed,  "  unite  all 
your  forces  now  ;  bring  up  all  your  courage  !  " 

"  Gracious  heaven !  how  pale  he  looks.  "What  is 
it?" 

"  I — I  know  not  how  to  tell  you." 

"  Oh  Charles,  you  scare  me.  Why  the  gloom  of 
this  ride,  the  self-crimination,  and  now,  this  sudden 
agitation.  Pray  go  on." 

There  was  a  certain  bitterness  in  the  expression  of 
the  young  man's  face.  "  Laura — " 

"  I  pray  you,  beseech  you,  go  on  !  " 

"  Laura  ! — I  love  another." 

The  girl  started  with  great  suddenness,  and  then 
buried  her  face  in  her  hands. 

"  Yes  !  "  continued  he,  gloomily,  "  I've  been  a  liar 
and  a  hypocrite  to  you  in  our  intercourse,  but  thank 
God,  I've  told  you  now  that  I  have  been  such." 

Laura  still  concealed  her  countenance,  and  in  the 
increase  of  her  agitation,  her  bosom  rapidly  heaved. 

("  Heavens  !  I've  crushed  her  soul !  I've  broken  her 


DINAH.  337 

heart.  Scoundrel — wretch,  that  I  am  !)  Oh  Laura,  let 
me  still  swear  that  I  will  be  devoted  to  you — be  faith 
ful,  though—" 

"  Ha !  ha !  ha !  "  cried  she,  throwing  back  her 
head,  and  bursting  into  laughter. 

("  Good  Heaven  !  Delirious  !  She's  going  crazy  !) 
It  is  false !  It  is  false  !  Yes,  now  I  know  you  love  me, 
dear,"  said  the  alarmed  young  man,  attempting  to  con 
ceal  his  rashness  in  a  futile  appearance  of  triumph. 
"  Oh  try  and  be  calm.  Know  that  it  was  but  a  foolish 
ruse  of  my  jealousy  to  try  your  affection." 

"Ha!  ha!  ha!" 

("  Gracious  !  the  violence  of  the  shock  has  shaken 
her  mind.)  Ever,  ever  will  I  love  you,  and  hate  my 
self — that  is,  for  this  folly,  I  mean.  Do  but  restore 
yourself  to  quiet,  and  I'll  go  through  fire  and  water  for 
you— I'll— " 

"  I  am  better  now  ;  you  say  you  love  me  !  " 

"  Oh  yes.  I  am  so  relieved.  To  think  of  my  wish 
ing  to  make  you  believe  I  didn't,"  said  Charles,  laugh 
ing  feebly  at  the  ridiculousness  of  the  idea.  "  How 
absurd  !  But  you  know  better,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Charles  ;  but  it  was  so  unexpected." 

("  Oh  dear  !  all  hope  is  over.") 

"  However,  I  shall  be  well  presently." 

"  Oh  yes,  you  are  even  better  now.  (Jove  !  I  begin 
to  wish  I  had  stuck  to  it.)  But  after  such  violence  as 
that  which  I  have  been  guilty  of,  you  must  hate  me. 
I  know  you  do.  Will  you  not  hate  me  forever  ?  (If 
she  only  would  !  ") 

"  Oh  no,  no.  I  shall  always  love  you  just  as  much 
as  ever,"  said  the  girl,  demurely,  but  with  great  firm 
ness. 

15 


338  DINAH. 

The  iron  of  this  announcement  went  to  the  very- 
centre  of  his  soul.  He  turned  his  head  away  in  bitter 
ness  to  conceal  his  gloom,  unwilling  then  to  disturb  fur 
ther  the  happiness  of  the  light-hearted  young  girl. 

"  Don't  you  think  we  have  ridden  far  enough  ? "  said 
he,  after  a  lengthened  pause.  "  How  flat  the  scenery- 
is  here.  The  sky  isn't  worth  a  glance." 

"  Yes,  let  us  return,"  said  the  girl,  looking  out  of 
the  corners  of  her  eyes  at  him,  and  biting  her  lips. 

They  drove  on  some  way  in  silence  on  their  return, 
but  as  they  were  approaching  the  inn,  Laura  finally 
turned  to  him,  and  said,  "  Charles  !  I  too — wish  to  in 
trust  you  with  a  secret."  There  was  an  appearance  of 
sadness  upon  her  face,  and  her  agitation  certainty 
seemed  profound.  "  Yet  though  I  also,  as  you  will 
see,  have  been  a  hypocrite,  I  can  be  truthful  to  you 
now,  without  fear  of  wounding  your  nature  or  hopes. 
But  still  it  is  best,  perhaps,  to  summon  your  courage 
and  jmite  all  your  energies.  I  too — love  another !  and 
this  is  a  parting  kiss  to  our  engagement ! "  said  she, 
turning  around  and  kissing  him  with  ardor. 

In  his  surprise  and  bewilderment,  he  kissed  her 
three  or  four  times,  and  then  they  shook  each  other's 
hands,  and  both  burst  out  into*  a  loud  and  unrestrained 
laugh.  Laura  then  unfolded  to  the  young  man  how 
she  had  secretly  felt  a  growing  attachment  to  the  young 
lawyer,  Mr.  Bonney,  without  hardly  knowing  whether 
it  was  love  or  not,  but  that  she  was  now  sure  it  was 
something  else  besides  admiration  for  his  warmheart 
edness,  and  other  virtues.  "  But  don't  you  tell  him," 
said  she.  And  Charles  now,  in  his  turn,  confided  to 
her  all  of  his  secret.  It  struck  her  with  a  soft  rage, 
but  soon  brought  the  bestowal  of  another  kiss 


DINAH.  339 

upon  his  lips.  And  so  with  mutual  confidence  and  re 
newal  of  temporary  secrecy,  they  arrived  at  the  inn. 
Such  was  the  happiness  and  merriment  in  their  looks 
as  they  alighted,  that  Laura's  worthy  parent  imme 
diately  rushed  down  into  the  office,  and  treated  eleven 
wayfarers  whom  he  found  there,  under  the  firm  convic 
tion  that  heretofore  he  had  been  mistaken,  but  this  time 
the  proposal  and  engagement  had  surely  been  made. 
As  each  of  these,  by  a  strict  social  intercussation  of  eti 
quette,  extended  their  courtesy  in  return,  he  was  obliged 
to  drink  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  times,  and  was 
then  put  to  bed. 


CHAPTER   LI. 

THE   SCHOOL. 

DESTAH  went  on  in  industrious  attention  to  the  ful 
fillment  of  her  duties  in  the  little  school,  and  more  and 
more  the  scholars  were  coming  to  like  her.  Two  little 
fellows  might  be  seen  every  day  sitting  on  the  front 
bench  together,  looking  into  their  spelling-books  with 
a  busy  noise,  or  furtively  turning  their  heads  towards 
the  other  boys.  Their  little  hearts  were  joined  in  love 
for  each  other,  and  they  already  looked  up  to  their 
sweet  mistress  almost  as  a  mother.  They  were  or 
phans. 

One  day,  the  young  lawyer  Nathaniel  was  turning 
a  corner  near  the  school,  when  a  brick-bat  struck  him 
in.  the  stomach.  It  came  in  the  midst  of  a  shower  of 
stones  and  smaller  missiles,  and  he  had  time  to  observe 


340  DINAH. 

the  retreating  overseer  Obadiah,  bending  against  the 
hail  of  rocks  with  bruised  hat,  ere  his  attention  was 
exclusively  absorbed  by  the  personal  anguish  of  the 
accident. 

"  Hallo  !  hallo  !  What  is  this  ? "  gasped  he,  after  a 
while,  looking  around.  A  great  noise  had  greeted  his 
ear,  and  in  the  disturbed  distance  there  appeared  an 
approaching  mob  of  children.  -  "  What  is  this  2  Do 
you  want  to  knock  people's  eyes  out,  and  break  all  the 
windows  in  the  neighborhood,  eh  ?  " 

"  Hurrah  for  the  mistress !  We'll  fight  for  our  mis 
tress  forever !  "  cried  the  little  fellows,  immediately, 
crowding  around  Nat  in  triumph,  and  to  hear  what  he 
thought  of  the  affair. 

"  Hooray,  Square  Nat,"  said  Gluckinson,  appearing 
in  their  midst,  in  hoarse  excitement.  "  We've  beat  him 
off!  He's  been  tryin'  to  make  'em  disobedient,  and 
we've  stoned  him.  He's  running  away.  Hooray  !  " 

Three  days  before  this  occurrence,  two  youthful 
members  of  Dinah's  school  had  swerved  from  the  path 
of  rectitude  in  the  most  unaccountable  manner,  and, 
boldly  announcing  that  the  pursuit  of  liberty  was  an 
inalienable  right,  stated  that  they  were  not  going  to  be 
made  to  do  any  more  sums.  The  next  day,  one  of 
them  suddenly  absented  himself  at  an  unauthorized 
hour  from  the  school-house.  Hushed  whispering  was 
immediately  prevalent  among  the  children,  and  it  was 
observed  that  they  had  become  very  inattentive  to 
their  lessons,  and  frequently  bent  their  eyes  in  a  dark 
manner  towards  an  adjoining  wood-shed.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day,  intense  excitement  was 
caused  by  the  sudden  and  voluntary  appearance  of  the 
truant  before  the  mistress  in  tears,  and  with  a  dis- 


*  DINAH.  341 

tended  stomach.  He  had  been  hanging  about  the 
wood-shed  all  day,  eating  varied  delicacies  in  solitary- 
ecstasy,  until  satiety  came,  bringing  with  it  penitence. 
It  was  then  that,  with  a  puff  of  excitement,  the  con 
spiracy  came  to  light,  and  each  of  the  boys  related 
with  deep  feelings  of  importance  and  awe,  the  fact  that 
this  youth  had  lately  been  seen  in  frequent  conversa 
tion  with  the  overseer  Baylon,  that  sticks  of  candy  and 
sugar  cookies  were  observable  in  his  possession  in  re 
markable  recurrency,  and  that  he  had  frequently  ad 
vised  them  to  be  naughty,  as  they  would  get  as  many 
sweetmeats  as  they  wanted  by  it ! 

Dinah  gave  them  quiet  commands  of  obedience, 
and  the  look  of  honesty  and  honor  from  her  eyes  was 
enough.  Unknown  to  her,  a  counterplot  was  formed. 
It  reached  Gluckinson's  ears  by  a  rapid  telegraph,  and 
gallantly  led  on  by  him,  they  assailed  the  unsuspecting 
Obadiah  at  an  opportune  moment  with  a  rocky  tribute. 
At  one  period  during  the  attack,  as  the  enemy  at 
tempted  to  turn  and  pursue  his  assailants,  Gluckinson 
blenching  slightly,  danced  behind  the  little  band  armed 
with  rocks,  (appearing  like  Gulliver  among  the  Lilli- 
puts  ;)  but  he  soon  recovered  his  equanimity,  and  tak 
ing  the  lead  again  in  a  brilliant  manner,  the  enemy 
was  put  to  a  base  and  speedy  flight  amid  the  triumph 
ant  cries  of  the  assailants. 

The  devotion  of  the  little  fellows,  and  of  the  simple 
but  honest  Gluckinson,  fighting  for  their  puissant  lady, 
was  approved  of  by  Nat  with  sparkling  eyes.  "  Here, 
boys !  Here's  a  dollar.  I  see  your  mistress  coming 
after  you.  Hun  and  spend  half  of  it  to-day,  and  the 
other  half  to-morrow,  and  then  I'll  give  you  some 
more.  I  breathe  a  little  more  regularly  now,  but  still 


34:2  DINAH. 

a  large  circle  of  friends  and  admirers  will  be  pained  to 
know  of  my  condition.  It  did  execution.  You  pro 
jected  that  missile,  didn't  you,  Jim  ?  " 

Jim  had.  Taking  a  severe  aim,  and  determined  to 
inflict  a  terrible  and  lasting  vengeance  upon  the  per 
son  of  his  enemy,  he  had  thrown  the  brick  with  all  the 
energy  which  his  tended  muscle  was  capable  of,  and  it 
had  landed  directly  in  the  pit  of  Nat's  stomach. 

The  boys  rushed  to  the  candy-seller's,  wild  with 
joy  at  this  immediate  reward  of  their  fealty,  and  a 
grand  feast  of  molasses  candy  was  immediately  inaugu 
rated  in  front  of  the  astounded  and  rejoiced  old  wo 
man's  ;  forty-five  boys  being  ranged  along  in  silence  on 
the  curb-stone,  each  energetically  dissolving,  with  work 
ing  jaws  and  steadfast  gaze  into  vacancy,  immense  lumps 
of  the  saccharine  joy. 

Nat  having  paid  his  salutations  to  Dinah,  and  con 
versed  with  her  cheerfully  for  some  time,  went  away 
to  his  office  accompanied  by  James.  On  the  way,  he 
observed  that  Gluckinson's  vivacity  had  all  left  him, 
and  he  became  melancholy  once  more. 

"  The  cook  licked  me  again  this  morning,  Mr.  Nat," 
said  he,  finally.  "  I  don't  know  what  to  do.  "Won't 
you  tell  me  ?  Baylon  used  to  advise  me,  but  that's 
before  I  began  to  hate  him.  He  told  me  I'd  better 
join  the  church." 

"  By  the  way,  that  reminds  me ;  that's  a  good  idea," 
said  Nat,  "just  the  thing,  James.  The  boy  who  blows 
the  bellows  at  Dr.  Fuffles's,  has  been  discharged  for 
paying  more  attention  to  blowing  his  nose.  You  can 
join,  and  take  his  place  Sundays,  and  in  that  way  you 
can  get  religion  and  strength  at  the  same  time,  don't 
you  see  ? " 


DINAH.  34:3 

The  next  Sunday,  the  youth  was  duly  installed 
with  the  consent  of  his  mistress,  as  assistant-organist, 
and  pumped  way,  under  the  recollection  of  the  causes 
of  his  acceptance,  with  a  devotion  of  inexpressible 
profundity. 

In  a  few  days  after  the  occurrence  related,  in  accord 
ance  with  the  usual  custom,  the  advancement  of  the 
school  was  shown  up  to  the  parents  of  the  neighbor 
hood,  in  a  fall  examination.  The  young  schoolmistress 
welcomed  them  to  what  hospitality  the  place  afforded, 
with  an  old-fashioned  wave  of  the  hand  and  bow  and 
blush.  Judge  Pithkiii,  though  conscious  of  his  celeb 
rity  and  the  grandeur  of  his  position  as  presiding 
spirit,  sat  on  the  stage  as  calm  and  unmoved  as  a  prize 
pumpkin  at  a  country  fair,  the  object  of  admiring  curi 
osity.  The  examination  advanced,  and  the  scholars 
being  generally  found  to  know  more  than  the  commit 
tees  who  examined  them,  it  was  pronounced  quite 
satisfactory. 

The  usual  characteristics  of  such  a  gathering  dis 
played  themselves.  Thus,  during  the  recitation  of  the 
class  in  mythology  :  "  "Who  was  Calchas  ?  "  asked  the 
little  schoolmistress,  mechanically. 

BOY.  "  A  celebrated  soothsayer,  who  died  of  grief 
at  being  unable  to  tell  how  many  figs  there  were  upon 
a  certain  tree,  some  one  else  having  mentioned  the 
exact  number !  " 

DINAH.     "  Yes  !  that  is  correct." 

Then  DR.  FUFFLES  to  Dinah,  in  a  patronizing  man 
ner  :  "  Does  not  history  inform  us  rather,  that  he  died 
from  having  eaten  too  many  of  the  figs  in  a  fit  of 
spleen,  consequent  upon  finding  his  superior,  in  divina 
tion  ?  I  think  you  will  find  it  so.  Yes,  perhaps  that 
is  more  precise !  " 


3M  DINAH. 

Then  Dinah's  attention  would  be  called  for  a  mo 
ment  to  Judge  Pithkin.  He  had  been  eyeing  a  boy 
for  some  time,  with  symptoms  of  growing  alarm. 
"  Gods  of  heaven !  that  boy  has  got  the  measles !  I 
haven't  had  'em  !  "  said  he.  "  Take  him  out !  Lead 
him  away  !  I  insist  on  it !  " 

"  Oh,  no,  sir  !  "  said  Dinah,  quieting  him.  "  It  is 
only  his  natural  complexion." 

"  Eh  ?  you  are  sure  of  it,  are  you  ?  Fond  of  beef, 
eh  ?  "  continued  the  Judge,  resuming  in  confidence  his 
expression  of  grandeur,  and  looking  down  upon  the 
audience. 

He  was  much  concerned  about  this  time,  however, 
by  an  extraordinary  and  continuous  succession  of  smiles 
which  the  spinster  aunt  bestowed  upon  him.  In  fact, 
well  knowing  love  to  be  a  plant,  to  which  was  neces 
sary  the  sunshine  of  smiles,  and  observing  that  his  was 
naturally  of  very  slow  growth,  she  had  suddenly  re 
solved  to  apply  the  hot-house  pressure  to  it.  It  put  him 
out,  more  especially  as  he  was  just  commencing  to  con 
in  secret  a  speech  which  !N"at  had  written  for  him,  to 
be  delivered  on  this  important  occasion.  After  a  short 
period,  he  was  relieved,  however ;  for  observing  that  he 
appeared  to  be  wandering,  and  being  attracted  to  the 
old  father  of  Dinah,  modestly  seated  in  a  distant  and 
obscure  corner,  she  went  at  the  latter,  and  caused  his 
old  heart  to  beat  with  violence  from  the  kind  words 
which  fell  from  her  lips  about  his  daughter. 

Under  a  desire  to  be  exceedingly  affable,  the  spin^ 
ster  proceeded  to  discourse  with  the  old  man  upon 
other  and  more  abstruse  subjects,  which  he  listened  to 
in  humbleness,  although  he  didn't  understand  a  word 
of  it.  "  Your  head  is  weak,  my  friend,"  she  would 


DINAH.  345 

say,  "  but  I  know  you  are  nevertheless  acquainted  with 
all  the  secret,  aye,  mysterious  workings  of  that  dark 
and  inscrutable  enigma,  the  human  heart,  and  I  honor 
you  for  your  appreciation  of  it !  "  All  of  which  only 
made  the  old  man  more  undecided  than  ever. 

Then,  after  a  while,  the  judge  is  forced  by  an  idea 
of  his  own  importance,  to  come  down  for  a  moment 
from  the  stage,  and  examine  a  spelling  class.  One  boy 
is  laboring  under  a  fatal  hallucination.  All  words 
commencing  with  an  /",  he  spells  with  ph,  and  vice 
versa. 

"  !Now,  fat,  sir.  Don't  bully  me,  sir,"  says  the 
judge,  sternly.  "  Don't  attempt  to  bully  me.  Spell 
fat,  sir,  and  without  pli !  " 

"  F—  a — t — then  !  "  said  the  boy,  driven  to  the 
verge  of  distraction.  "  You  are  a  fat  old  rascal !  " 

"  Eh !  this  argues  insubordination  in  the  school, 
and  bad  rule !  What  is  this,  eh  ?  "  says  the  judge, 
with  severity,  shaking  his  head,  while  the  apothecary, 
who  has  lately  been  elected  selectman,  makes  the 
extraordinary  remark,  "  Cert'nly,  these  are  the  ones  she 
encourages.  Hows'ever,  she  can't  help  favoring  wick 
edness,  because  she  naturally  has  a  fellow  feeling 
for  it !  " 

A  half  smile  parts  the  disdainful  lips  of  the  young 
girl,  as  she  hears  the  deliberate  insult,  but  her  serious 
countenance  returns  to  its  repose,  as  she  defends  her 
self  without  excitement.  "  Sir,  for  the  same  reason, 
perhaps,  your  fellow-citizens  may  have  favored  you 
with  the  position  which  shields  you  from  reply." 

Here  all  the  visitors  laugh  forcibly  at  the  apothe 
cary,  and  Pithkin,  observing  that  his  brother  select 
man  stumbles  grammatically  in  his  desire  to  reply, 
15* 


346  DINAH. 

says  to  him,  to  relieve  him  of  his  agony,  "  Sit  down !  " 
The  apothecary  thereupon  pretends  to  be  engaged  in 
an  important  conversation  with  the  justice;  but  the 
latter  will  not  be  humbugged,  and  tells  him  also,  "  to 
hold  his  tongue,"  which,  on  the  whole,  he  is  glad  to 
do,  and  go  away  shortly,  as  he  had  brought  himself 
into  an  uncomfortable  position  before  the  elite,  by 
wagging  it. 

Then  the  boys  commence  to  recite  the  usual  exciting 
harangues,  calculated  by  the  compilers  of  elocutionary 
books  to  test  the  constitutional  ability  of  youths  to 
withstand  pulmonary  complaints.  One  informs  the 
audience  in  shrill  tones,  that  he  has  a  vocal  organ 
which  remains  entirely  bellicose  in  its  nature ;  while 
another,  intending  to  ask  the  assemblage  if  a  delibera- 
ative  body  of  Romans  could  waste  any  great  period  of 
time  in  unprofitably  discussing  a  certain  matter,  con 
verts  the  question  into  a  supposed  petition  by  some 
Roman  to  the  heathen  powers,  to  flay  alive  the  Con 
gress  of  his  country.  "  Gods,  skin  a  Roman  Senate," 
and  overpowered  by  the  idea  without  doubt,  is  imme 
diately  withdrawn  in  tears  from  the  stage,  without 
proceeding  farther.  However,  none  find  fault  with 
these  exercises,  or  if  they  do,  they  cannot  lay  it  at 
Dinah's  door,  because  the  high-school  master  teaches 
elocution  throughout  all  the  institutions.  And  now  at 
last  the  time  has  come  when  a  few  remarks  are  ex 
pected  from  Judge  Pithkin  and  others,  on  the  state 
and  advancement  of  educational  matters. 

The  judge,  having  risen  upon  this  occasion,  immedi 
ately  commenced  in  great  style  upon  the  prosperity  of 
the  school,  and  proceeded  to  express  himself  in  a  con 
cise  but  fervent  manner,  by  affirming  it  to  be  his  delib- 


DINAH. 

erate  conviction,  that  all  the  prosperity  of  this  and 
the  other  institutions,  was  owing  to  his  sole  efforts, 
and  whatever  drawbacks  there  were,  were  to  be  laid 
to  some  one  else.  This  idea  pleased  him  so  much,  that 
he  was  unable  to  entertain  any  other,  and  he  was 
fain  to  repeat  it  from  the  commencement.  A  faint 
chuckle  was  heard  in  the  audience,  and  this  over 
powered  him  completely,  so  that  not  a  single  idea  was 
left  in  his  memory.  He  then  pulled  Nat's  notes  from 
his  pocket,  and  commenced  to  read  them  from  begin 
ning  to  end,  directions  and  all,  with  great  fidelity  and 
determination  not  to  lose  one  drop  of  them,  all  of 
which  resulted  in  a  great  success,  and  he  was  gener 
ally  congratulated  upon  the  happiness  of  his  effort; 
although  it  may  have  sounded  somewhat  singular  to 
many,  to  hear  him  say  in  a  coherent  and  straightfor 
ward  manner — 

"  Yes,  gentlemen  and  ladies,  we  have  cause  to  be 
satisfied  with  this  advancement  in  educational  interests, 
and  I  felicitate  you  all.  Allude  then,  ladies  and  gen 
tlemen,  to  the  necessity  of  taking  charge  of  tender 
youths,  and  call  the  attention  of  the  assemblage  to  the 
duties  of  parents  in  assisting  the  teacher  in  discipline 
of  conduct ;  and  you  can  put  in  a  joke  or  two  in  refer 
ence  to  their  having  been  children  once  themselves — 
the  old  birchen  rod — times  being  different  now  from 
then — but  manners  of  mind  the  same — necessity  of  this 
ground  touched  upon  slightly.  Another  joke  here — 
and  then  ladies  and  gentlemen,  wind  up  the  whole  with 
an  allusion  to  our  country,  just  before  they  commence 
to  applaud !  " 


348  DINAH. 


CHAPTER   LII. 

PURE    LOVE. 

CHARLES,  as  soon  as  he  returned  on  the  following- 
Saturday,  rushed  on  the  wings  of  his  infatuation  to 
seek  the  presence  of  the  young  girl  whose  character 
exercised  such  an  influence  over  his  feelings,  and  now 
his  hopes. 

On  his  way  he  met  the  colored  folks  and  the  old 
father  of  Dinah  going  to  chapel  for  the  coming  even 
ing,  and  they  passed  him  with  respectful  bows. 

Charles  stopped  at  the  turn  of  the  road  which 
brought  the  house  in  view,  for  he  saw  Dinah  seated 
upon  the  bench  beneath  the  tree  before  it,  engaged  ap 
parently  in  an  absorbed  reading.  Her  back  was  turned 
towards  him,  her  arm  rested  on  the  rail  of  the  bench, 
her  forehead  upon  her  arm,  the  book  was  on  the  seat 
beside  her,  and  in  this  lazy  attitude  she  was  perusing 
its  pages.  He  stole  across  the  road,  and  came  up  to 
wards  her  as  slily  as  a  cat  upon  a  mouse,  treading  softly 
upon  the  grass  that  his  footsteps  might  not  betray  his 
presence.  Reaching  the  broad  old  tree,  against  the 
other  side  of  which  the  bench  rested,  he  observed  her 
attention  was  still  apparently  engaged  upon  the  pages 
of  the  book.  So  near  now  that  he  held  his  breath  for 
fear  of  discovery,  and  she  quietly  said,  sitting  up  in  a 
natural  way,  "  I  am  glad  you  have  come  back." 

He  took  his  seat  beside  her,  and  shook  both  of  her 
hands,  which  she  willingly  rested  in  his.  If  there  ever 
was  pure  friendship  and  gratitude,  it  beamed  from  her 
eyes  as  she  welcomed  him  back  again  into  her  humble 


DINAH.  34:9 

presence.  He  asked  about  the  progress  of  her  school, 
and  seemed  to  take  further  delight  in  making  her  tell 
him  all  about  her  own  affairs  during  his  absence.  The 
feelings  with  which  he  had  now  approached  her,  relieved 
of  the  dishonor  of  double-dealing,  were  the  feelings  of 
the  discharged  prisoner  enjoying  th"e  sunlight  of  heaven. 
The  thought  of  her  avowed  passion  for  "Warriston  now 
seemed  hardly  to  have  any  weight  with  him.  He  felt 
that  her  love  for  his  neighbor  was  but  the  confused 
echo  which  is  ever  awakened  in  woman's  bosom  by  a 
true  or  even  false  call  of  affection,  and  he  felt  that  those 
calls  must — must  soon  be  shut  out  from  her  pure  soul. 
But  as  he  continued  in  pleasure  to  question  her  upon 
her  humble  affairs,  in  which  he  now  took  more  interest" 
than  any  thing  in  the  world,  and  referred  to  the  advan 
tages  she  would  derive  from  a  continuance  in  the  school, 
lie  noticed  that  a  faltering  look  came  over  her  face.  Aye, 
she  listened  in  silence  as  he  fondly  predicted  in  terms 
of  glowing  friendship  her  future  career  of  happiness  and 
usefulness,  and  a  thought,  which  was  silently  denying 
what  he  said,  seemed  to  have  more  weight  than  all  his 
warm  and  hopeful  words.  She  suddenly  rose.  There 
was  an  energy  about  her  actions,  and  a  nervous  firm 
ness  in  her  tones,  as  she  briefly  said : 

"  I  did  not  tell  the  truth  when  I  said  I  was  glad 
that  you  had  come  back.  I  am  sorry — indeed  sorry, 
that  you  come  hither.  It  cannot  be.  You  must  not. 
Every  one  is  wronged,  but  above  all  you  are — deceiv 
ing  yourself." 

"  Dinah,"  said  the  young  man,  after  a  moment, 
"  these  words  do  not  bring  me  happiness.  They  rudely 
strike  the  soul  of  a  friend." 

"  Pshaw  !  "  said  she ;  there  was  a  trifling  indiffer- 


350  DINAH. 

ence  to  his  feeling  apparent  in  her  manner.  "  You 
will  always  be  unhappy.  It  is  because  you  are  lazy." 

"  ISTo,  no.  It  is  not.  It  is  because  I  fear  to  lose 
the  reality  of  possessing  a  genuine  friend.  One  who 
can  sympathize  with  me,  as  if  she  were  myself,"  con 
tinued  the  young  man,  repressing  his  feelings. 

"  What !  "  said  she,  turning  towards  him  sharply. 
"  Is  it  I  you  wish  to  be  as  yourself  to  you  ?  Cer 
tainly.  You  wish  to  act  as  if  you  were  beside  yourself 
when  you  are  beside  me,"  continued  she,  summoning 
up  her  old  way  of  irony.  . 

"  Dinah !  I  felt  alone  until  I  saw  you.  Do  not 
move  away  from  me.  Yes !  it  was  you  alone  who 
awakened  in  my  heart  those — " 

"  Oh,  where  are  your  feelings  of  honor,  of  decency, 
sir  ?  Where  is  your  trusted  love  for  Laura  ?  " 

"  Dinah,  I  love  her  not,"  said  he  in  a  low  voice. 

"  Yes !  «yes !  I  thought  so,"  muttered  the  young 
girl  in  suppressed  energy.  "  Well,  sir,"  continued  she 
shortly,  rousing  herself,  "  her  happiness  is  now  your 
only  dutiful  thought,  and  I  will  not  be  an  accomplice 
in  your  desire  to  violate  it." 

("  I  have  indeed  deceived  myself  with  my  own  stu 
pidity,")  said  the  young  man  with  a  melancholy  laugh. 
"  Dinah,  if  not  your  words,  at  least  your  manner  seems 
to  tell  me  that  you  are  seeking  an  excuse  to  break  our 
friendship  without  revealing  its  real  cause.  Yes,  you 
are  right,  and  it  is  perhaps  idle  now  to  tell  you  that 
she  would  willingly  sever  the  ties  which  bind  me  to 
her." 

The  girl  looked  at  him  suddenly  with  glittering 
eyes. 

"  But  though  you  can  feel  no  return  for  my  love, 


DINAH.  351 

you  shall  now  know  of  its  existence  and  its  power. 
Dinah,  I  "naturally  and  necessarily  love  you ;  and 
though  we  should  part  to-night  forever,  let  me  not 
leave  in  your  soul  the  thought  that  mine  has  been  but 
a  dull  block  in  its  intercourse  with  you,  that  I  have 
not  lived  a  growing  life  in  the  sunshine  of  your  darling 
face,  that  returning  echoes  have  not  been  awakened  by 
the  sound  of  the  voice  which  poured  forth  the  expres 
sions  of  a  natural  and  a  vigorous  intellect,  that  no  thrill 
has  trembled  along  my  fibres  at  the  light  touch  of  your 
hand." 

The  girl  stretched  herself  convulsively  towards 
heaven,  as  the  vehemence  of  the  young  man's  emotion 
shut  up  for  a  moment  his  lips. 

"  Yes,  Dinah  !  though,  you  now  would  leave  me  for 
one  whom  the  mysterious  dispensations  of  Providence 
drive  you  towards,  leave  me  not  without  the  homage 
which  my  nature  owes  to  yours  ;  leave  me  not,  saying 
that  you  cannot  see  or  feel  my  love,  e'en  though  you 
love  another.  (By  God  !  if  she  will  love  him,  he  shall 
marry  her  and  love  her,  or  I  will  send  his  soul  to 
hell !  ") 

"  "What  has  told  you  that  I  love  another  ? "  she 
asked  rapidly. 

"  Your  own  confession  !  " 

"  For  whom — for  whom  ?  " 

•'  My  neighbor  Rudolph.     Oh,  infatuated  love  !  " 

"  Yes,  yes !  Infatuated  love  is  mine,  but  it  shall 
have  its  eternal  way.  What !  "  said  she,  in  a  kind  of 
sudden,  abstracted  passion,  "  think  they  that  I  am  born 
without  human  rights?  Shall  not  my  soul  stand  up 
for  its  honor  ?  Am  I  not  a  woman  with  a  heart  to 
love,  like  the  rich,  the  proud,  the  lofty  of  the  land  ? 


352  DINAH. 

Have  I  not  a  head  to  plan  and  hands  to  work,  and 
shall  I  idly  bear  to  have  torn  away  from  my  being  the 
only  energy  which  would  impel  them  in  their  useful 
ness.  Never.  Whilst  thus  I  lean  upon  my  friend, 
will  I  defy  with  his  dear  love  the  world  and  all  its 
rudeness !  " 

She  threw  herself  into  the  arms  of  the  young  man, 
and  laid  her  head  upon  his  shoulder.  What  joyous 
delirium  seized  him  as  he  pressed  her  closer  to  his 
breast,  and  placed  his  lips  to  hers. 

"  'Tis  I !  'tis  I  she  loves  !  Thank  God  !  "  mur 
mured  he.  "  Fool  that  I  have  been.  Oh,  Dinah,  how 
can  I  return  such  pure,  such  honoring  love !  "  contin 
ued  the  young  man,  as  he  reverted  in  memory  to  the 
time  when  she  had  revealed  her  secret  love,  and  deemed 
it  dishonorable,  because  he  had  deceived  her  with  his 
apparent  love  for  Laura. 

"  Mine !  mine  now.  ~No  one  can  part  us,"  said  he, 
again  straining  her  to  his  bosom,  and  placing  a  kiss 
upon  her  returning  lips. 

"  God  says  it  is  right,  and  He  will  not  part  us ! 
!No !  No !  They  cannot  part  us !  "  murmured  she.  "  Am 
I  not  his  to  make  him  useful  in  the  world.  I  will  live 
and  die  but  to  that  end,  for  it  is  my  destiny."  And 
yet  a  sadness  seemed  strangely  in  her  words. 

The  shadows  of  twilight  were  darkening  over  the 
amphitheatre.  The  winds  of  the  decaying  year  swept 
up  fitfully  through  the  dark  forest,  from  whence  the 
sound  of  the  mourning  dove  issued  to  mingle  with  the 
long  clarion  notes  of  the  cock,  as  he  crowed  his  final 
parting  to  the  day. 


DINAH,  353 

OHAPTEE  LIU. 

~D  i  N  A  H  AT  LAURA'S  RESIDENCE. 

LAUEA,  in  furtherance  of  her  desire  to  promote  the 
happiness  of  Dinah,  extended  a  formal  invitation  to 
the  young  schoolmistress  to  spend  a  week  at  her  house, 
during  the  fall  vacation. 

Dinah  and  Laura  are  walking  together  in  the  gar 
den,  and,  in  unreserved  confidence,  but  half  express 
the  affection  which  they  bear  each  other,  for  they  can- . 
not.  An  agitation  seizes  the  former's  frame,  and  the 
mingled  radiance  of  fear  and  joy,  which  is  designated 
as  bashfulness,  spreads  upon  her  face ;  for  her  heart, 
quicker  than  her  vision,  tells  her  Charles  is  near. 
After  a  while,  Laura,  pretending  that  she  hears  wheels 
upon  the  distant  side  of  the  house,  abruptly  runs  away 
from  the  two  lovers ;  and  a  few  moments  thereafter, 
the  sound  of  a  waving  musical  romance  from  the  piano 
lulls  their  auditory  sense.  Charmed  by  its  affluence, 
they  also  wander  to  the  house,  and  sit  them  down 
in  a  little  back  parlor,  looking  out  upon  the  loaded 
fruit  trees. 

Charles  took  her  hand  respectfully,  and  sat  down  in 
a  chair  in  front  of  the  sofa,  against  the  arm  of  which 
she  rested. 

They  then  entered  into  a  conversation,  in  which 
their  sympathies  were  more  unfolded,  and  their  souls 
came  nearer  together,  as  it  progressed  through  the 
flowery  field  of  English  poetry.  He  soon  came  to 
dwell  upon  the  hopes  which  his  mother  had  entertained 
with  regard  to  him,  and  expressed  frankly  the  unpleas- 


354:  DINAH. 

antness  of  shocking  her,  and  apparently  dashing  those 
hopes  by  a  sudden  revelation  to  her  of  his  new  attach 
ment  ;  and  although  he  alluded  to  the  meanness  of  se 
crecy,  and  the  false  position  in  which  the  receiver  of 
his  love  was  placed,  the  latter  knew  that  time  would 
have  to  be  expended  in  softening  his  parent's  mind 
towards  her,  before  such  a  divulgement  could  be  made 
without  causing  pain,  which  might  thus  be  avoided. 

A  sad  air  came  upon  Dinah's  face  again,  and  a  sigh 
escaped  her  lips ;  but  she  quickly  concealed  them 
from  the  young  man. 

"  And,  Dinah,"  said  the  young  man,  in  prophetic 
exultation,  "  the  bestowal  of  a  mother's  love  upon  you 
will  soon  fall  from  her  lips,  mingled  with  a  praise  to 
her  Maker  for  this  blessing  of  her  son.  Oh,  darling, 
you  may  not  blame  me  if  then  I  become  peevish  and 
moping,  because — because  I  shall  be  jealous  of  her  !  " 

"  Hush  !  hush !  "  said  she,  tenderly,  putting  her 
hand  upon  his  mouth  ;  "  hush  !  some  one  is  coming." 

A  hand  was  upon  the  door.  "  In  this  room,  dear  ?  " 
asked  a  well-known  voice. 

"  Yes,  you  will  find  it  upon  the  table,"  cried  Laura, 
from  the  staircase  above.  The  tutelary  girl  was  anx 
ious  about  the  foolish  children,  wandering  in  the  park, 
and  was  cunningly  dressing  for  a  divergent  drive  with 
her  visitor. 

"  Heavens !  my  mother  is  here  !  "  cried  Charles. 
Dinah  rose  and  placed  herself  with  a  rapid  adjustment 
of  her  dress  in  front  of  the  young  man,  who  had  been 
kneeling  by  her  hand,  and  hid  him  with  its  folds,  as 
she  stood  against  the  sofa.  She  appeared  quite  tall 
and  stately  as  she  assumed  this  position,  like  her  god 
mother  the  huntress,  when  she  has  returned  from  the 


DINAH.  355 

chase  ;  and  he  was  like  her  brother  Apollo,  skylarking 
behind  his  favorite  sister.  As  the  mother  entered,  al 
though  she  had  been  made  aware  of  the  young  school 
mistress's  hospitable  presence  in  the  house,  she  stopped 
in  surprise,  and  it  was  after  a  moment  that  she  ac 
knowledged  the  bow  with  which  her  entrance  was  sa 
luted.  In  the  girl's  erect  position  she  thought  she  saw 
again  too  apparent  that  boldness  of  character,  aye,  the 
effrontery  so  unbecoming  her  youthful  years,  which 
was  more  abandoned  than  the  natural  hypocrisy  which 
could  not  conceal  it.  In  her  bitterness  and  pride,  as 
the  thought  of  the  girl's  artful  disposition  towards  her 
son  rushed  upon  her  mind,  she  violated  the  rights 
which  the  roof,  under  which  they  were  both  guests,  af 
forded  the  girl,  and  in  reproachful  terms,  yet  with  a 
sincerity  of  sadness,  soon  came  to  ask  her  plainly  by 
what  fatuity  she  had  thought  to  forget  the  return 
which  she  owed  her  benefactor,  and  lead  his  honor  into 
the  infatuated  dishonor  of  embittering  the  hopes  of  his 
parents — with  what  palliation  to  usurp  the  happiness 
of  the  unsuspecting  girl,  under  whose  roof  she  was  now 
a  guest. 

She  thus  confessed  the  power  which  her  listener 
possessed,  and  naturally  desired  to  exercise  over  her 
son ;  and  although  she  did  not  believe  that  the  latter 
could  be  so  infatuated  with  her  as  to  succumb  to  that 
power,  it  was  a  bitter  truth  to  know  that  he  would  be 
estranged  from  Laura's  affection,  or  at  least  was  pre 
paring  the  way  by  his  disposition  towards  this  girl,  for 
a  just  discarding  aversion  in  the  mind  of  his  affianced. 
She  had  lately  received  bitter  proofs  of  the  growth  of 
this  disposition,  and  prospected  in  sadness  the  hopes  for 
his  future  thus  crushed  by  an  idle  whim  of  his  fancy. 


356  DINAH. 

But  yet  such  a  sadness  had  been  concealed,  and  why 
did  she  fear  even  to  speak  to  him  frankly  of  this  sub 
ject,  or  reproach  him  with  a  mother's  right  for  his 
folly  ?  Amid  the  contending  emotions  of  that  proud 
heart,  a  feeling  almost  of  guiltiness  had  seized  her,  and 
yet  she  knew  not  why.  Dinah  stood  in  a  motionless 
position,  listening  to  her  reproachful  words,  and  replied 
not  until  the  mother  asked  her  with  increased  agitation 
if  she  dared  to  meet  her  son  alone. 

"  He  honors  me  with  his  love,"  said  Dinah  ;  "  mine 
shall  not  dishonor  him !  "  She  put  her  hand  behind 
her,  which  the  young  man  seized  and  pressed  to  his 
lips.  There  was  a  melancholy  tenderness  in  her  voice, 
and  a  renewed  weariness  appeared  to  come  over  her 
spirit. 

"  Let  us  be  seated  !  "  said  the  mother  in  her  hope. 
As  she  advanced  towards  the  girl  in  a  conciliatory  way, 
she  discovered  her  son  still  on  his  bended  knee  behind 
the  robe  of  the  former,  holding  her  hand  in  affection, 
and  a  smile  upon  his  lips !  The  faltering  of  Dinah's 
voice  had  touched  him,  and  set  up  a  thrill  of  exquisite 
pleasure  within  him.  The  mother  had  known  the  stead 
fast  honor  of  her  son,  and  exclaimed  in  overpowered 
tones  :  "  Horror  !  my  son  concealing  his  shame  behind 
the  robe  of  the  cunning  daughter  of  a  criminal !  " 

"  Tes !  my  mother  !  I  love  her !  "  said  he. 

"  "Would  you  be  estranged  from  me  forever  ?  "  cried 
she,  in  her  discontent ;  and  she  sank  upon  the  chair 
and  covered  her  face  with  her  hands. 


DINAH.  357 

CHAPTER    LIT. 

THE   SINGULAR   COURSE  OF  MR.  BOXNEY's  AFFECTION. 

CHARLES'S  aunt  and  Mr.  Bonney,  seated  upon  the 
top  of  two  firm  and  well-made  ladders,  placed  at  a 
comfortable  proximity  for  colloquial  purposes,  were  en 
gaged  in  an  interesting  conversation. 

"  Yes,  it  is  now  definitely  settled,  Mr.  Bonney," 
said  the  former.  "  Would  you  think  it  ?  Yes,  she  in 
trusted  it  to  a  father's  solicitude.  It  is  to  take  place 
on  the  twentieth  of  December  next." 

Nat  made  a  convulsive  movement,  and  came  near 
falling  from  his  eminent  position,  but  managed  to  re 
cover  himself. 

"  And  I  will  tell  you,  but  say  nothing  about  it. 
"Would  you  think  it,  I — te-hee — instituted — te-hee— -the 
most  ingenious  stratagem.  It  caused  him  to  make  the 
proposal  at  once.  At  a  moment  when  they  were  be 
coming  inattentive,  causing  him  to  believe  that  she 
was  indifferent  to  him,  I  roused  his  pride.  It  was  like 
a  box  on  the  ears  of  his  purpose,  and  now  they  are  to 
be  married  on  the  approaching  twentieth  of  Decem 
ber." 

("  Oh  the  devil !)  I  did  the  same  thing.  I  did  the 
same  thing  to  Laura  !  After  sixteen  industrious  hours 
of  unexampled  lying  on  different  occasions,  I  succeeded 
in  making  her  believe  that  he  rather  preferred  eating 
Ins  breakfast  to  marriage  with  her,  and  it  has  had  the 
same  effect  upon  her,  hang  me  if  it  hasn't !  " 

"Oh,  dear,  disinterested  Mr.  Bonney,  did  you?" 

"  Ha !  what  fatality  is  this  which    attends  me  ? " 


358  DINAH. 

asked  Mr.  Bonney,  in  a  low  voice,  sternly  interrogating 
his  interior  oracle.  "  I  try  this  unfailing  principle  of 
human  nature  in  two  cases  :  In  my  own,  for  the  first 
and  only  time  it  at  once  works  backwards  !  Deluded 
by  the  overpowering  argument  of  personal  experience, 
I  try  it  in  my  rival's,  and  it  resumes  with  fatal  vigor 
its  accustomed  course  !  It  will  be  the  same  thing  with 
the  law  of  gravity  !  The  end  of  the  pursuit  of  my  af 
fection  will  be  my  extinguishment.  I  shall  break  my 
neck  by  falling  up  to  the  top  of  a  four-story  house, 
while  running  after  her." 

"  And  you  must  be  thanked  for  your  kind  effort, 
indeed,  Mr.  Bonney." 

"  And  you  also,  I  think.  (I  can  afford  to  say  that. 
If  the  principle  had  worked  stern  foremost  in  his  case 
as  in  mine,  her  efforts  would  have  been  in  my  favor  at 
any  rate.  But  let  me  be  prudent.  If  I  was  deluded  by 
the  personal  experience  of  this  supernatural  reversion 
of  general  principles,  it  determines  me.  I  am  in  the 
claws  of  a  crab-like  fate,  and  from  this  moment,  what 
ever  I  ought  to  do  in  the  brief  period  before  me,  I  will 
do  backwards,  confound  me  if  I  don't.") 

"  Do  you  know,  at  one  time,  I  thought  you  were  in 
clined  to  pay  her  attentions,  Mr.  Bonney.  Indeed,  I 
really  did,  would  you  think  it  ?  " 

"  Hey  !     Has  she  ever  said  any  thing  about  that  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  no  ;  of  course  not.  You  know,  being  taken 
up  with  Charles,  you  know,  at  the  time." 

"  Certainly  !  Certainly.  The  idea  was  totally  un 
founded,  of  course  !  And  I  now  authorize  you  to  deny 
it  for  me  firmly  and  peremptorily  on  all  occasions  upon 
which  it  may  or  may  not  be  mentioned,"  said  !Nat, 
tumbling  off  his  ladder  in  his  vehemence. 


DINAH.  359 

It  was  inadvertently  omitted  to  be  mentioned,  at 
the  commencement  of  this  chapter,  that  this  brief  con 
versation  took  place  in  an  alcove  of  the  circulating 
library  of  Templeville,  where  the  parties  were  hunting 
for  books. 

It  may  also  be  stated  that,  during  the  same  day,  a 
great  change  suddenly  came  over  Miss  Wellwood's 
manner,  which  had  been  of  an  exceeding  liveliness, 
amounting  almost  to  a  continuous  exultation.  The  com 
mencement  of  this  change  was  manifested  in  a  flood  of 
tears,  which  lasted  for  half  an  hour,  and  after  that  it 
was  observable  she  expended  the  remainder  of  the  even 
ing  in  contemplating  her  finger  nails  in  a  blue  manner. 


CHAPTEE    LY. 

THE    MOTHER    IS    SHOCKED. 

SOME  ladies  of  the  neighborhood,  calling  upon 
Charles's  mother  on  her  usual  reception  day,  caused 
the  saloon  to  resound  with  their  loquacity.  One,  after 
many  inquiries  respecting  Charles's  father,  travelling 
upon  business  in  Europe  and  the  expected  period  of 
his  return,  with  lively  abruptness  called  the  attention 
of  the  room  to  the  melancholy  of  Miss  "Wellwood,  who 
was  present,  and  then  with  the  same  pleasant  versa 
tility  turned  her  conversation  towards  the  kind  interest 
which  her  hostess's  son,  Charles,  had  lately  manifested 
in  the  district  school  of  young  children. 

"  And  do  you  know,"  said  she,  glancing  at  Laura, 
coolly,  certainly  with  a  refreshing  intention,  "  I  think 


360  DINAH. 

the  susceptibilities,  too,  of  my  young  friend's  nature  seek 
this  fair  wild  flower  of  the  woods,  in  preference  to  the 
cultivated  society  of  the  more  refined."  She  was  pos 
sessed  of  six  daughters,  whose  prospects  for  matrimony 
were  lessening  with  each  passing  hour.  "  What  eccen 
tricity,  that  he  should  pretend  to  find  extraordinary 
qualities  in  this  fair  maid — late  of  your  milking  pail, 
ha !  ha !  But  that  is  just  his  way,  to  be  sure.  Yes, 
he  will  amuse  himself  with  this  new  idea  for  a  while, 
and  make  a  model  of  perfection  of  his  Florimel,  by  an 
ardent  application  of  his  lively  imagination,  and  then 
quietly  relapse  into  ennui.  However,  the  girl  is  not 
vulgar  in  her  manners  at  all,  though  I  understand  she 
naturally  possesses  a  kind  of  unscrupulous  disposition. 
But,  indeed,  one  would  really  think,  ha  !  ha  !  he  takes 
such  an  extraordinary  interest  in  her  that  he  was  really 
in»love  with  her  !  " 

The  singular  idea  thus  emitted  by  the  female 
Thersites  was  not  canvassed  at  all  by  those  interested, 
although  much  blushing  took  place,  particularly  on 
the  part  of  Laura,  who  certainly,  of  all,  had  a  right  to 
consider  the  intention  of  the  lady  as  an  insult. 

After  the  ladies  had  extended  their  valedictory  sal 
utations  and  requests,  and  Charles's  aunt  and  mother 
were  left  alone,  there  were  some  minutes  of  silence. 
The  former  was  suddenly  struck  with  a  new  idea  in  her 
surprise.  "  Can  it  be  that  he  wished  to  enjoy  over 
again  that  moment  of  ecstasy,  and  has  proposed  to 
Dinah  also  ? " 

The  mother  rose  with  a  stern  look,  and  left  her 
sister  alone.  She  ordered  her  carriage  soon  after,  and 
paid  a  solitary  visit  to  her  pastor,  Dr.  Fufiles. 

"  — Yes,  it  seemed  to  me,"  continued  she,  in  her  con- 


DINAH.  361 

versation  with  the  blushing  doctor,  "  that  I  saw  in  that 
flashing  eye  and  distended  nostril  the  consciousness  of 
her  power ;  and  in  the  suppression  of  that  spirit,  thus 
not  altogether  concealed,  the  depth  of  her  artifice. 
Thus  that  very  gentleness  of  manner  and  willingness 
of  disposition  by  which  she  extends  her  power  over 
those  with  whom  she  comes  in  contact,  is  to  me  but 
the  mask  of  the  hypocrite.  I  do  not  speak  from  preju 
dice  ;  I  acknowledge  that  she  has  many  fine  traits  of 
character  ;  but  how  natural  it  is  that  in  an  ambition  to 
raise  herself  above  her  condition,  how  almost  pardon  able 
it  is,  that  she  should  use  those  admirable  qualities  in  an 
improper  manner." 

"  Is  it  possible  that  you  can  believe  that  the  warmth 
of  disposition  which  appears  in  one  so  young  is  as 
sumed  ?  Great  Heaven  !  what  a  horrible  sepulchre  of 
goodness  must  any  heart  be,  that  can  assume  a  virtue 
for  a  vicious  purpose.  I  cannot  believe  it  in  one  so 
young  I  " 

"  Oh  no.  It  is  not  that.  She  is  by  nature  really  of 
an  affectionate  disposition,  and  I  think  is  disposed  to  do 
rightly.  Only  in  the  error  of  her  ambition  to  rise 
above  her  station  in  life  she  pardons  unconsciously  to 
herself  the  wrong  she  would  inflict  upon  others,  and 
the  artifice  of  the  means  she  would  thus  use,  in  what 
appears  to  be  the  holiness  of  the  aim.  Her  virtues  are 
but  so  many  misfortunes  to  her,  for  she  will  use  them 
for  a  bad  purpose.  Indeed,  such  is  the  fascinating 
power  of  some  elements  of  her  character,  that  with  all 
my  desire  to  be  perfectly  just  I  have  at  times  forgotten 
the  shadow  and  see  nothing  but  brightness.  It  is, 
alas  !  too  true.  She  cannot  be  trusted,  and  is  more  to 
be  feared  because  her  artifice  is  so  imperceptible. 
16 


362  DINAH. 

She  is  certainly  unfit  to  be  a  teacher  of  young 
children." 

She  paused,  and  leaned  her  head  for  a  moment  upon 
her  hand,  as  if  overcome  with  the  bitterness  of  her 
thoughts.  The  education  of  rare  refinement  and  po 
liteness  had  taken  out  from  her  soul  altogether  the 
passion  of  anger,  but  in  the  midst  of  all  her  feelings  of 
justice  and  desire  to  be  right,  something  like  uncon 
scious  hate  for  a  moment  took  possession  of  her  bosom. 
But  not  a  shade  passed  over  her  countenance  of  the 
emotion  within.  It  was  ever  the  mixed  expression,  of 
regret  that  such  were  the  circumstances,  of  compassion 
for  the  girl,  and  of  a  determination  that  it  should  be 
broken  up. 

The  doctor  felt  that  Charles's  mother  was  always 
just,  and  guarded  against  doing  violence  to  the  inter 
ests  of  others.  He  knew  how  far-seeing  her  nature  was, 
the  depth  of  her  power  of  perceiving  character,  and  a 
conviction  of  the  painful  truth  came  over  him.  "  What 
dark  springs  the  human  bosom  contains !  "  said  he. 
"  If  each  of  us  had  a  window  in  our  bosoms  to  disclose 
those  secret  springs,  we  would  close  the  shutters  im 
mediately  !  " 


CHAPTEE  LYI. 


THE  UNEXPECTED  ADVERTISEMENT. 


had  returned  from  Laura's  residence  to  the 
humble  house  by  the  side  of  the  lake,  where  the  honest 
colored  people,  with  their  instincts  of  servitude,  were 


DINAH.  363 

only  too  happy  to  constitute  her  as  their  mistress. 
Often  did  she  run  along  into  the  wood,  or  across  the 
fields,  almost  as  lightly  as  Camilla,  to  meet  the  embrace 
of  her  lover.  Often  did  she  await  with  listening  ear,  in 
some  bowered  outpost,  to  the  coming  footfalls  of  his 
honorable  step,  to  throw  her  arms  about  his  neck. 
And  yet  on  those  sweet  occasions  of  expectation,  why 
ought  not  her  soul  to  have  been  altogether  happy? 
"Why  did  she  often  sigh  or  mutter,  "  I  will  to-day  or 
to-morrow  "  ?  It  was  not  the  bitterness  of  the  mother's 
feelings  towards  her,  for  that  they  had  talked  about 
with  a  noble  hope  and  patient  resolve  to  win  her  to 
their  happiness. 

One  evening  they  had  wandered  in  the  groves  tow 
ards  the  lake,  and  sat  them  down  upon  a  broad  stone. 
There,  taking  her  hand,  he  diverted  the  hour  with  a 
simple  melody,  or  with  what  she  loved  better,  with 
pompous  talk  about  what  he  intended  to  do  in  the 
great  future  before  them. 

In  his  gladness  he  had  become  swollen  and  arro 
gant,  consenting  now  and  then  to  smile  at  her,  and 
looking  upon  her  with  great  benignity.  The  hour  was 
still  pleasant  and  warm  for  the  season. 

"  Look  at  yon  moonlight  upon  the  lake  through  the 
trees,"  said  she,  musing,  with  her  elbows  on  her  knees, 
regarding  the  magnificent  scene. 

"  You  are  a  lunatic,  darling,  like  all  the  rest  of 
them,"  said  he. 

"  Yes,"  replied  she,  with  a  short,  nervous  laugh. 
She  held  down  her  head  and  muttered  something. 

"  What  did  you  say  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  Oh,  nothing." 

A  pause. 


364:  DINAH. 

"  Don't  you  think,  Charles,  as  I  am  a  member  of  the 
human  family,  I  have  a  right  to  all  the  common 
chances  of  happiness  ?  "  said  she. 

"  Singular  question  !  "  thought  Charles.  "  Eh  ?  I 
don't  know  what  you  mean.  You  are  wandering 
slightly,  I  think.  You  are  delirious  with  the  moon, 
milk-and-water  girl !  " 

"  Yes !  yes !  I  am,"  cried  she,  suddenly  arousing. 
"  Say,  Charlie,  if  I  lived  in  a  tree  like  a  dryad,  you 
would  come  philandering  by  moonlight  like  this,  and 
serenade  me,  would  you  not  ?  Come,  tell  me  about 
your  future." 

Charles  commenced  to  unfold  his  plans  in  reference 
to  his  proposed  career  as  a  merchant,  and  the  wishes 
of  his  father  that  he  should  succeed  him  in  business. 
He  noticed,  while  thus  talking  to  her,  that  she  passed 
her  hand  over  her  brow,  as  if  she  were  oppressed  with 
some  thought,  or  imagining,  some  indefinite  feeling. 

She  said  nothing  to  him  in  reply,  and  there  was  an 
other  pause — she  again  in  resistless  abstraction,  and  he 
somewhat  puzzled  at  her  peculiar  manner.  She  com 
menced  soon,  however,  but  in  a  strange,  disinterested 
way,  to  allude,  with  her  yoiithful  but  clear  discrimina 
tion,  to  the  increasing  honor  which  was  becoming  at 
tached  to  the  mercantile  character.  She  had  gotten 
the  correct  idea  that,  out  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
age  and  the  peculiar  elements  of  American  society, 
there  was  growing  a  noble  merchant  character,  such  as 
once  existed  in  Venice  and  Germany,  but  qualified  by 
the  superior  intelligence  and  advanced  civilization  of 
the  present  age.  This  ideal  commercial  character  she 
placed  with  her  naturally  strong  imagination  like  a 
thing  of  beauty  and  honor  before  the  young  man. 


DINAH.  365 

More  and  more  was  she  becoming  his  idol,  his  very 
being.  The  sympathy  between  them  seemed  to  him  to 
be  as  eternal  as  it  was  natural,  though  sometimes  he 
felt  a  presentiment  that  she  might  be  torn  away  from 
him  forever.  He  gazed  at  the  planet,  that  light  which 
every  solemn  spirit  worships,  and  the  indefinite  fear 
which  had  taken  possession  of  him  heightened  his  sen 
timent  almost  to  romance.  She  saw  his  agitation. 
Her  lips  rested  upon  his,  and  she  gently  returned  his 
warm  kisses  of  affection.  By  and  by  the  sensible  crea 
ture  pretended  to  sleep  in  his  arms,  and  to  awake  only 
as  his  voice  heightened  at  the  climax  of  his  words  of 
love  ;  and  then  she  pretended  to  conceal  an  embarrass 
ment  in  her  caresses.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  such  ten 
der  words  generally  have  more  attentive  listeners. 

"  Come,  Harlequin,  Columbine  is  going  home,"  said 
she.  She  had  forgotten  her  melancholy,  and  com 
menced  to  plague  him. 

There  was  no  noise  in  the  woods  of  winds,  or  birds, 
or  of  any  moving  thing  save  themselves,  and  they  heard 
only  the  crackling  of  the  dry  fagots  as  they  advanced 
slowly  towards  her  house.  "What  voice  was  that  which 
suddenly  swelled  upon  the  still  night  air  ? 

"  Di — come  wake  up,  Di ! — I  have  come  again !  "  it 
sang  rather  than  spoke,  in  those  tones  which  were  now 
so  familiar  to  the  startled  young  man.  The  shout  thus 
appeared  to  come,  with  an  unearthly  ring,  from  the 
forests  away  from  the  lake,  and  towards  the  Indian 
maid's  fountain.  The  echo  of  the  side  of  the  lake  an 
swered  once  or  twice  in  dying  confusion,  and  then  an 
idle,  defiant  whoop  awoke  it  to  further  reply. 

The  girl  clasped  Charles's  shoulder  quickly,  and 
stood  in  apparent  trembling  and  fear,  as  if  it  were  a 


366  DINAH. 

startling  summons.  She  cast  a  beseeching  look  into 
his  face,  and  then  awaited  the  return  of  the  cry  Avith  a 
shudder. 

"  Heavens  !  "What  is  it  ?  "  said  the  young  man,  as 
he  heard  her  name  thus  uttered,  and  saw  her  agitation. 

"  Hush  !  hush  !  "  said  she,  quickly.  "  He  won't 
come  here !  " 

They  both  stood  still  to  await  a  renewal  of  the 
voice. 

"  Ha !  some  farmer-  singing  a  rude  song  to  awake 
the  echo  !  "  said  the  young  girl,  moving. 

"  No !  no  !  "  denied  the  bewildered  young  man. 
"  Heard  you  not — heard  you  not — your  name,  Dinah  ? 
It  cried  your  name  !  " 

"  To  the  moon — to  Dian — who  crazes  him  with  her 
effulgence,"  said  the  girl,  quickly.  "  Come !  let  us  go  ! 
"We  are  half-crazed,  too  !  Pshaw !  what  a  fool  I  was  to 
be  frightened !  If  he  does  it  again,  we  will  frighten 
him,  Charlie.  I  will  be  the  goddess,  and  cry  on  the 
stillness  my  distant  warning  to  this  mortal  for  his  te 
merity." 

But  there  was  no  further  interruption  from  this 
mysterious  voice.  The  usual  silence  had  resumed  its 
reign  ;  and  they  soon  reached  the  house,  as  the  young 
girl  seemed  to  insensibly  quicken  her  step. 

Charles  bade  her  adieu.  On  his  way  home,  the 
silence  seemed  to  increase  ;  and  he  meditated  upon  the 
surest  way  of  solving  the  mystery.  He  had  wisely 
laughed  with  her  at  their  being  startled,  but  his 
thoughts  were  far  otherwise  than  in  the  train  which 
the  laugh  would  indicate.  Again  the  absurd  idea  of  a 
relation  existing  between  the  young  girl  and  some  su 
pernatural  being  took  possession  of  his  disturbed  fancy. 


DINAH.  367 

The  singularity  of  her  character  now  seemed  for  the 
moment  unearthly.  Her  connection  by  descent,  too, 
with  the  ill-blooded  race  of  Pompney  and  the  murdered 
pioneer,  that  whose  wilfulness  of  disposition  in  life 
should  make  him  still  walk  the  earth,  was  the  argu 
ment  of  an  implicit  tradition.  While  receiving  the  ex 
citing  blows  of  his  varied  emotions  upon  his  nervous 
system,  he  scarcely  knew  or  cared  whither  he  strayed. 
The  singular  mystery  which  had  now  become  firmly 
attached  to  her  character,  was  a  cause  of  his  restless 
ness  and  cogitation  ;  but  it  checked  not  the  movement 
of  love  as  the  principal  in  his  frame.  He  determined 
to  solve  this  mystery,  and  yet  he  had  the  natural  fears 
akin  to  jealousy  which  deterred  him^  and  thus  dis 
tracted  his  being.  Even  the  want  of  confidence,  which 
the  existence  of  this  secret  in  the  bosom  of  the  girl 
proved  to  him,  was  enough  to  make  him  feel  all  the 
misery  of  that  worst  of  passions,  without  the  prospect 
ive  enjoyment  of  satisfaction  by  vengeance.  The  su 
pernatural  then  left  him,  and  the  old  and  strong  theory 
with  regard  to  this  matter  came  back  with  corroborated 
force — that  of  her  having  a  lover,  who  met  her  in  se 
cret,  and  who  possessed  power  enough  over  her  young 
nature  to  make  her  forget  honor  in  hypocrisy,  and  use 
her  bright  faculties  in  the  extraordinary  cunning  of  a 
feigned  passion  for  him,  the  wealthy  dupe.  Then  the 
horror,  the  sacrilege,  the  impiety  of  these  terrible 
thoughts  seized  his  soul,  and  he  felt  as  if  some  fiend 
was  cunningly  devising  these  circumstances  to  break 
his  love  and  his  life  from  Dinah.  To  the  honor  of  that 
love,  and  as  a  proof  of  its  purity,  these  feelings-  of  dis 
trust  and  suspicion,  founded  on  extrinsic  facts,  failed  to 
usurp  the  place  of  her  pure  character's  essential  influ- 


368  DINAH. 

ence.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  say  he  loved  her  still,  and 
that  lie  could  not  love  her  without  a  confidence  in  her 
purity  ;  for  he  would  have  followed  her  to  the  end  of 
time,  were  it  but  for  her  hypocrisy,  so  consummate  it 
was,  if  it  were  deceit.  But,  independent  of  that  love, 
the  innate  honor  of  her  character  kept  its  sway  in  his 
bosom. 

The  hypothesis  that  Dinah  was  concealing  relations 
with  Rudolph  in  this  secret  was  immediately  dismissed 
from  his  thoughts  as  untenable.  Warriston  had  left 
the  neighborhood  and  gone  to  Paris.  Convinced  of 
the  hopelessness  of  a  reciprocation  of  his  passion,  he 
had  sullenly  sought  other  scenes }  for  that  passion  con 
quered  not  the"  perversity  of  temper  which  made  him 
paradoxically  wound  his  own  wishes.  Or,  perhaps,  in 
thus  going  away,  a  kind  of  honor  glimmered  in  his  na 
ture.  He  may  thus  have  tried  to  atone  for  the  base 
ness  of  his  intentions  towards  Dinah.  Indeed,  before 
he  went,  he  acknowledged  the  influence  which  she  had 
over  him,  and  which  she  had  generously  exerted  to 
make  him  a  better  man. 

Charles,  upon  this  occasion,  shook  the  hand  of  his 
neighbor  with  the  warmth  of  a  friend,  though  this  ex 
pression  was  received  with  remnants  of  the  accustomed 
sullenness. 

As  Charles  neared  the  scene  of  the  churchyard,  a 
sense  of  awe  again  came  over  him,  and  drove  away 
completely  the  base  theory  attached  to  the  mystery  of 
the  voice.  That  sense  of  the  supernatural,  at  first,  was, 
perhaps,  nothing  more  than  the  result  of  his  reflections 
upon  the  peculiar  power  of  the  imagination,  which  thus 
played  with  such  an  airy  thing  as  a  sound ;  but  with 
the  stillness  of  the  scenery  reigning  about  him,  and  be- 


DINAH.  369 

iieath  the  soft  phreusy  of  the  moon's  resplendent  influ 
ence,  which  was  now  hallowing  tree,  and  spire,  and 
tomb,  the  witchery  of  Dian's  goddaughter's  involuntary 
connection  with  unearthly  rioting  took  him  in  trem 
bling  possession. 


CHAPTEE   LYII. 

DINAH  IS  TOLD  THAT  SHE  MUST  EESIGN. 

JUDGE  PITHKIN  was  weak.  Dr.  Fuifles,  though  ever 
reverencing  the  dreams  of  his  youth,  succeeded  in  giv 
ing  to  the  magistrate  an  upright  and  impartial  state 
ment  respecting  Dinah. 

"  I  think  the  mother  has  a  juster  estimate  of  the 
circumstances  than  the  son,  perhaps.  It  may,  indeed, 
be  the  misfortune  of  the  girl's  circumstances  rather  than 
of  her  nature,  but  it  is  somehow  improper,  and  indeed 
you  know  the  Madame  has  a  more  fixed  project  of  be 
neficence  in  view.  She  proposes  to  buy  a  little  place 
in  the  West  for  these  unfortunate  people,  and  make 
them  permanently  happy." 

"  Certainly,"  said  Mr.  Pithkin,  "  that  strikes  me  as 
correct.  I  have  thought  so  frequently  before  this,  but 
I  must  have  forgotten  it.  I  have  never  seen  any  thing 
improper  in  the  girl,  excepting  when  I  was — but  I 
believe  in  the  re-establishment  of  the  good  old  principle 
which  holds  a  man  guilty  till  he  proves  himself  inno 
cent.  Besides  that,  the  parish  demands  that  my  time 
shall  not  be  taken  up  with  bothering  about  little  girls, 
especially  as  the  Madame  will  give  her  a  better  place. 
That  must  be  done,  hang  me,  if  it  musn't,  you  know." 
16* 


370  DINAH. 

When  the  young  girl  heard  by  whose  will  the  se 
lectmen  had  been  swayed,  she  bowed  her  head.  Come, 
let  us  build  a  theory  upon  that  simple  action,  of  one 
submitted  to  these  earthly  trials.  May  she  not  have 
thought  that  the  indignity  and  injustice  was  done  her 
by  one  whom  she  wished  to  honor  and  love?  Her 
nature  may  at  first  have  been  confused  by  feelings 
which  were  new  to  her  bosom,  except  as  she  had  felt 
the  latent  power  of  them,  and  for  a  while  she  may 
have  stood,  as  it  were,  unprotected  against  herself, 
against  the  earthly  possibilities  of  her  soul.  But  it  was 
a  gentle  feeling  of  injury,  no  doubt — an  anger  rather 
akin  to  grief.  The  thunderbolts  of  passion  purify  the 
atmosphere  of  most  souls,  but  her  anger  should  have 
been  a  brilliant  electrical  refulgence  in  her  being.  She 
could  now  be  rewarded  with  the  exquisite  happiness  of 
forgiving  without  injustice  to  herself,  for  the  feelings  of 
anger  which  she  felt  were  experienced  by  her  not  be 
cause  a  wrong  had  been  done  to  her,  but  because  it  had 
been  done.  She  could  feel  a  pity  for  her  who  had  done 
it.  Indeed,  for  a  moment,  a  fierce  pleasure  takes  pos 
session  of  her,  as  she  curiously  wishes  that  it  might  be 
she  who  would  have  to  atone  for  the  wrong.  Yes,  were 
it  possible  she  could  bear  upon  her  own  shoulders  the 
sin  which  had  been  committed  against  her.  The  Sa 
viour  taught  this  eternally  true  and  thorough  forgive 
ness,  founded  in  comprehensive  justice. 

Thus  apart  from  the  feelings  of  her  heart,  receiving 
the  approval  of  her  intellect,  it  may  have  caused  her  to 
rise  from  her  reflecting  attitude  with  firmer  love  in  her 
bosom  for  her  injurer ;  for  one  whom  she  knew  to  be 
such  only  because  she  could  not  fortify  herself  against 
the  fond  sophistry  of  pride  and  prejudice,  or  see  the 


DINAH.  3Y1 

consequent  distortion  of  her  judgment.  And  was  this 
forgiveness  and  love,  shown  to  Charles's  mother,  sepa 
rated  from  the  young  girl's  relation  with  the  son  ?  Such 
an  energy  of  right  could  show  the  source  whence  flowed 
her  power  over  others,  the  unreflected  consciousness  of 
a  moral  independence  of  being,  the  assured  possession 
of  a  spiritual  destiny  with  which  no  will  could  meddle 
but  the  one  in  her  own  bosom.  If  Dinah  thus  felt 
patient  at  being  the  object  of  an  antipathy,  and  if  to 
the  repulsion  of  her  warm  desire  to  dispel  it,  she  meekly 
submitted  with  hope,  she  exemplified  the  philosophy  as 
well  as  the  honor  of  Christianity.  What  are  the  idiotic 
errors  of  human  admiration  !  The  men  of  history  who 
have  most  ruthlessly  sacrificed  the  happiness  of  others 
to  secure  their  own,  are  the  characters  that  are  really 
spoken  of  with  the  greatest  awe.  The  frail  child  seemed 
prouder  and  more  erect  in  spirit  than  ever. 


CHAPTEE   LYIII 


THE  FATHER. 


AN  old  merchant  of  New  York  sat  in  his  counting- 
house  in  Pine  Street.  In  spite  of  the  negligent  manner 
in  which  he  tossed  his  hair,  it  still  fell  gracefully  upon 
his  forehead,  and  his  coat,  which  he  seemed  to  delight 
in  handling  roughly,  unfailingly  made  out  to  vindicate 
its  elegance.  He  had  but  then  arrived  from  a  pro: 
longed  business  visit  abroad,  and  was  perusing  the  last 
epistle  which  his  wife,  sequestered  amid  the  wheaten 
scenes  of  autumn  and  unconscious  of  his  return,  had 


372  DINAH. 

sent  to  be  forwarded  to  him.  He  looked  up  from  the 
letter  and  called  his  chief  clerk. 

"  Mr.  Brown,  I  dislike  to  confide  any  thing  to  a 
married  man,  with  injunctions  of  secrecy.  It  subjects 
him  to  the  extreme  torture  of  being  tempted  to  reveal 
it  to  his  wife.  My  dear  Brown,  I  fear  a  crash,  and  we 
must  protect  ourselves — but  there  is  a  more  painful 
subject  to  which  I  refer."  Here  he  endeavored  to  look 
unconcerned,  walked  away  into  the  street,  and  by  and 
by  returned. 

"  Brown,  I  shall  go  into  the  country  this  afternoon. 
I  wish  to  surprise  them.  You  probably  remember, 
Mr.  Brown,  the  follies  and  dissipation  of  my  son 
Charles,  while  in  the  city  here  ?  " 

"  "Well,  sir,  candidly  I  do  not." 

"  How  can  you  say  that,  Mr.  Brown,  when  you 
know  that  he  went  to  the  country  satiated  with  the  ex 
travagant  follies  which  make  up  the  existence  of  the 
young  men  of  the  present  day  ?  " 

"  "Well,  perhaps  he  did  bend  to  a  few  improprieties 
to  which  youth  is  liable,  but  you  know — " 

"  Hey,  have  you  authority  for  that  remark,  Mr. 
Brown  ?  Are  you  not  aware  that  many  of  my  friends 
have  been  accustomed  to  congratulate  me  upon  his 
conduct  as  unexceptionable  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  I  say,  sir,  I  never  had  any  other  idea 
myself,  but — " 

"  Of  course,  I  see.  It  is  from  want  of  knowledge 
in  this  matter  that  you  cannot  speak.  But  let  me  tell 
you  now  of  a  new  field  of  viciousness  that  he  has  en 
tered  upon.  Mr.  Brown,  he  wishes  to  compromise  the 
honor  of  his  family,  and  his  mother's  happiness  and 
mine !  •  My  wife  gives  me  the  painful  intelligence  that 


DINAH.  373 

lie  has  become  entangled  in  his  follies  even  to  a  pro 
posal  of  marriage  with  some  person  far  below  him,  and 
of  dishonorable  reputation.  JSTow,  Mr.  Brown,  can  you 
blame  me  if  I  should  dismiss  him  forever  from  my  pres 
ence,  from  my  house  ?  " 

"  Oh,  sir  !  such  conduct  is  certainly  inexcusable." 

"  Hah  !  "What  ?  "  continued  the  troubled  but  af 
fectionate  father,  much  alarmed.  "  Eh,  do  you  know 
any  thing  about  the  young  female  ?  Have  you  heard 
any  thing  about  his  conduct  in  the  matter  that  should 
warrant  you  in  saying  that  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  sir,  and  I  could  not  think  it  possible  that 
he  would  act  with  dishonor,  but — " 

"  How  can  you  defend  him,  Mr.  Brown,  in  this  out 
rage  upon  his  parents  and  society  ?  Has  not  his  mother 
here  written  to  me  that  he  is  about  to  become  a  willing 
victim  to  the  intrigues  of  some  low  and  artful  creature, 
who — and  that  too  when — but  disinheritance  must  be 
his  penalty,  and  would  you  not  advise  me,  my  friend, 
to  such  an  act  of  justice  ?  " 

"  Such  a  measure  I  should  certainly  approve,  if — " 

"  Would  you,  Mr.  Brown  ?  "Would  you  see  me  em 
bitter  the  existence  of  my  own  offspring  by  driving 
him  upon  the  charity  of  the  world  without  friends  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  sir,  he  shall  always  have  friends.  I,  my 
self,  would — " 

"  JSTo,  sir.  He  shall  not  have  one.  He  will  deserve 
to  have  none,  and  he  shall  feel  what  it  is  to  trifle  thus 
idly  with  those  that  are  nearest  to  him.  But  say  no 
more,  Mr.  Brown,  say  no  more.  I  am  going  to  investi 
gate  it,"  continued  he,  mournfully.  "  I'll  put  on  a 
clean  shirt  and  go  incognito.  They  don't  expect  me, 
and  it  is  a  good  opportunity.  Heavens  !  the  folly  and 


374:  D  I N  A II . 

disobedience,  and  frippery  of  the  young  men  of  the 
present  day ! " 


-  CHAPTEE   LIX. 

NAT    AND    HIS    FELLO  W-P  AS  S  ENGEB. 

PROMPTED  by  an  inspiration  which  yet  whispered 
hope  to  him,  Nat  had  desperately  sought  the  scenes  of 
New  York.  He  had  heard  of  the  power  of  absence, 
and  went  with  the  sole  intention  of  awaking  Laura's 
soul  in  melancholy  and  then  to  love,  by  a  prolonged  ab 
sence.  It  had  lasted  for  four  days,  but  unable  to  en 
dure  it  himself  any  longer,  he  was  now  returning. 
Taking  his  seat  in  the  cars,  lie  shut  down  the  window 
for  composure  to  a  melancholy  revery. 

"  You  may  open  that  window,"  said  a  well-dressed 
elderly  gentleman  opposite  him,  thus  manifesting  the 
innate  affability  of  his  disposition. 

"  Eh,  did  you  speak  ? "  said  Nat,  somewhat  sur 
prised. 

"  I  say  you  may  open  that  window  !  " 

"  This  one  ?  "Why  this  window  ?  There  are  others 
open,  and — " 

"  I  want  that  window  open,"  said  the  elderly 
stranger,  resolutely.  ("  It  is  my  duty  to  teach  the 
boys  of  this  age  to  respect  the  wants  of  their  elders, 
and  I  commence  from  this  moment !)  Where  do  you 
stop,  young  man  ?  " 

"  Templeville,  my  native  heath.    Name,  Bonney." 

"  Eh !  what !    Do  you  know  a  family  there,  residing 


DINAH. 

at — let  me  see — Pompney  Place  ?  The  young  man,  I 
believe,  is  an  idle,  dissipated — " 

"  No,  sir.  No,  sir.  Not  at  all.  I  know  him  well. 
That  is,  perhaps,  he  may  be  rather  radical  in  his  views. 
He  smokes  meaner  cigars  and  more  of  'em,  for  instance, 
than  any  man  in  the  neighborhood,  and  he  has  studied 
more  and  learned  less  than  any  man  of  his  age  and 
standing  in  society,  but — " 

"  Eh  !  "What !     Studied  more  and  learned  less  ?  " 

"  I  meant,  to  be  sure,  learned  less  and  studied  more. 
How  stupid  I  am  !  " 

"  That  is  just  what  I  told  Brown,"  muttered  the 
elderly  gentleman.  "  I  told  Brown  people  thought 
so." 

"  Did  you  ?  "  asked  Nat.  "  Who  is  Brown  ;  let  me 
see,  do  I  know  him  ?  " 

"  How  am  I  able  to  say  ? "  asked  the  other,  dis 
tractedly. 

"  But  I  must  say  you  were  wrong.  In  fact  I  may 
say  his  faults  are  not  at  all  the  faults  of  intellect. 
However,"  continued  the  young  lawyer,  after  a  pause 
of  apparent  melancholy  reflection  on  both  sides,  "  what 
ever  they  are,  they  may,  perhaps,  be  attributed  to  the 
example  of  his  father,  who  they  say  is  a  worthless  old 
dog.  (I'll  cheer  him  up  with  a  little  scandal.  It  will 
relieve  my  own  feelings  also,  by  George  !  ") 

"  Eh  !  God  bless  me  !  What  is  that  ? "  asked  the 
other,  starting.  "  What  do  they  say  ?  " 

"  They  say  that  he  has  the  misfortune  to  have  one 
of  the  most  miserable  wretches  for  a  father  that  ever 
breathed,"  proceeded  Nat,  vivaciously.  "  To  be  sure,  his 
character  does  not  seem  to  have  been  very  badly  influ 
enced  by  him,  but  it  is  often  remarked  what  he  might 


376  DINAH. 

have  been  had  he  had  a  respectable  progenitor,  or  even 
one  respectably  informed,  for  they  say  his  parent  is  as 
illiterate  as  he  is  unprincipled." 

Nat  had  certainly  succeeded  in  instituting  a  change 
in  the  nature  of  the  old  gentleman's  feelings,  for  he 
shuddered  at  these  words,  and  a  cold  perspiration  stood 
upon  his  brow.  The  terrible  power  of  scandal  had 
never  before  struck  him  so  forcibly  perhaps. 

"  They  say  he  is  a  fearfully  ugly  man  in  personal 
appearance,"  said  ]STat,  artlessly,  after  a  pause. 

"  Good !  I  like  that.  But  put  up  the  window, 
young  man.  You  can  put  up  the  window.  You 
laugh  ?  Why  merriment,  sir  ?  " 

"  Ha !  ha !  a  good  thing,"  continued  Nat,  reck 
lessly.  "  They  say  he  is  henpecked,  too,  so  that  he  can 
not  live  with  his  wife  at  all.  He  certainly  has  not 
been  up  there  since  they  have  come  to  live  at  the 
Place." 

("  Oh,  I  feel  as  if  this  were  more  than  I  should  be 
called  upon  by  fate  to  endure !  I  have  a  good  mind 
to  swear.  I  could  damn  something,")  said  the  other, 
turning  away  violently  to  look  out  of  the  window,  and 
muttering  an  indistinct  ejaculation. 

"  Heavens !  what  have  I  said  ?  "  asked  Nat  inter 
nally,  seized  with  a  sudden  remorse.  "  But  I  don't  be 
lieve  it,  sir,  I  don't  believe  it,  at  least  the  last  particular. 
The  others,  perhaps,  may  be  true,"  continued  he,  aloud. 
"  You  see,  I  heard  them  in  Templeville,  and  I  consid 
ered  it  my  duty  to  reissue  them  with  the  usual  im 
provements,  ha  !  ha  !  Confound  it,  a  man  has  a  right 
to  repeat  any  thing  he  hears,  derogatory  of  his  rival's 
relatives,  at  least.  There  is  some  power,  however, 
which  won't  permit  me  to  do  it  without  taking  it  all 


DINAH.  377 

back,  hang  it,"  continued  the  ardent  young  lover, 
gloomily. 

"  What !  your  rival  ?  " 

"  He  is  my  rival,  and  chiefly  the  fine  effect  of  his 
quiet,  gentlemanly  ways  is  overpowering,  and  his  pres 
ence  caused  by  a  very  fine  mustache,  you  know — " 

"  Oh,  pshaw  !  Let  him  have  it  off.  (What  is  this  ! 
This  young  man,  too,  mad  upon  the  same  subject,  and 
for  the  same  cunning,  intriguing  object.  The  folly  and 
frippery  of  young  men,  nowadays.  Heavens  !  How 
ever  keep  cool  and  extricate  them  both.)  Young  man, 
I  know  that  young  girl  better  than  you  do.  Why,  why 
should  you  wish  foolishly  to  wed  a  girl  who  in  the  first 
place  hasn't  a  cent  in  the  world,  and  in  the  second 
place — " 

"That  is  the  worst  of  it,"  said  Nat,  gloomily. 
"Why,  her  expectations  are  immense,  sir,  while  the 
only  expectation  I  have  is  that  she  won't  have  me." 

"  Oh  she  has  been  deceiving  you,  young  man.  She 
hasn't  a  cent.  Not  a  cent,  sir.  The  ill-founded  expec 
tations  she  had  are  vanished.  She  hasn't  a  cent,  and 
never  will  have,  sir,  I  know  it." 

"  Oh,  are  you  sure  ?  Hurrah  !  "  cried  Nat,  spirit 
edly  ;  "  now  I  must  have  her,  I  must  and  will  have 
her." 

("  He  appears  to  be  insane.  It  is  useless  to  try  to 
rescue  him,  and  as  that  is  the  case,  it  is  my  duty  to 
employ  him  at  once  in  rescuing  Charles.  Certainly.) 
you  persist,  young  man  ?  Well,  I  can  help  you.  I  am 
now  going  there,  and  I  have  no  doubt  I  can  bring  it 
about.  Yes,  I  can  and  I  will,  if  you  say  so." 

"  Oh,  if  you  could  but  approach  Miss  Wellwood  in 
this  delicate  matter  and — " 


378  DINAH. 

"  "What  ?  "  said  the  elderly  gentleman,  suddenly  los 
ing  his  entire  propriety  of  demeanor.  "  I  can't,  sir,  and 
what  is  more,  I  shan't.  How  dare  you  ask  ine  to  do 
it  ?  How  dare  you  ?  " 

("  Well  !  "  said  the  slightly  astonished  Nat,  "  I 
have  an  idea  that  he  is  inclined  to  be  unhappy  and 
contradictory  at  times.  First  he  wished  to  have  the 
windows  open,  and  then  to  have  them  shut.  Now  he 
volunteers  his  aid  to  me,  and  immediately  afterwards 
changes  his  mind  even  into  rage.  Oh,  I  will  decline 
his  assistance.)  Yery  well,  very  well.  The  important 
fact  which  you  have  given  me  that  she  is  not  wealthy 
is  sufficient,  and — " 

"  Not  wealthy !  not  wealthy,  sir !  "What  do  you 
mean  ?  "  said  the  other,  who  had  loosely  surrendered 
himself  to  his  increasing  irritation.  "  She  has  a  million 
if  she  has  a  cent.  Oh,  pshaw  !  " 

("  There  he  is  again.  Confound  me  if  I  say  another 
word  to  him.  I'll  leave  him  alone  with  his  perversity. 
He's  becoming  really  ugly.")  And  although  thereafter, 
the  elderly  gentleman  hunted  for  him  at  various  periods 
daring  the  journey,  under  a  strong  desire  to  renew  their 
conversation,  it  was  not  until  they  reached  Templeville 
that  Nat  emerged  from  among  the  trunks  in  the  bag 
gage  car,  where  he  had  smoked  and  thought  himself 
into  a  frenzy. 


DINAH.  379 


CHAPTEK   LX. 

CHARLES'S  FATHER  AT  HOME. 

THE  meeting  between  Charles's  father  and  his 
mother  was  very  affecting,  as  also  between  Charles 
himself  and  his  returned  parent.  All  the  hopes  and 
fears,  even  the  present  happiness,  of  that  couple  were 
centred  in  his,  and  thus  the  unpromising  aspect  o£  busi 
ness  which  they  were  forced  to  consider  was  carefully 
kept  for  a  while  from  his  thought,  and  indeed  any  allu 
sions  to  his  unhappy  and  irritating  entanglement  with  his 
humble  friend,  his  father  refrained  from  making  before 
his  obstinate  will.  Though  just  anger  was  in  their 
bosoms  for  that  which  only  seemed  ingratitude  for 
their  care,  the  hope  of  the  ephemerality  of  his  infatua 
tion  repressed  it.  Now  more  than  ever  did  his  union 
with  Laura  seem  their  chief  and  immediate  aim. 
Laura's  father  was  a  frequent  adviser  upon  the  subject 
of  business,  and  the  result  of  their  conferences  was  a 
bent  unison  upon  the  immediate  necessity  of  a  union 
of  the  two  families. 

The  mother  still  kept  her  cool  and  unruffled  ex 
terior,  and  carefully  guarded  the  anxiety  and  unhappi- 
ness  of  the  father  from  displaying  itself  to  the  son,  and 
the  unconscious  Charles  thought  he  saw  the  time  was 
coming  when  she  would  relent  to  his  love. 

The  father  was  judicious  enough  to  go  no  farther 
than  a  slight  reference  to  the  matter,  showing  a  half- 
considered  incredulity,  although  it  annihilated  now  his 
inmost  and  most  passionate  wishes.  Even  Charles's 
aunt  kept  her  estimation  of  his  conduct  apart.  On 


380  DINAH. 

one  occasion,  however,  she  asked  him  very  naively  if 
he  had  proposed,  endeavoring  to  draw  him  out  by  al 
luding  to  proposals  in  general  as  being  good  things.  His 
singular  conduct  on  that  occasion  led  her  to  believe 
more  than  ever  that  it  was  of  no  use.  She  now  had  a 
presentiment  that  he  could  not  be  made  to  marry  Laura, 
just  as  strong  as  the  one  in  which  she  foresaw  her  own 
union  with  Pithkin.  She  kept  it  locked  in  her  own 
bosom,  however.  During  these  days,  Squire  Wellwood 
was  constantly  with  his  old  friend,  Charles's  father,  and 
commenced  and  left  unfinished  as  many  as  two  hun 
dred  anecdotes,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  which 
Nat  was  doomed  to  listen  to,  as  he  dined  frequently  at 
one  house  or  the  other.  On  discovering  the  identity 
of  his  late  fellow-passenger,  JSTat  had  neutralized,  with 
prompt  sagacity  and  by  a  most  brilliant  manoauvre, 
the  discovery  which  he  had  made  to  him  of  his  secret 
love  for  Miss  Wellwood.  Ere  it  was  recalled  to  mem 
ory,  indeed,  by  the  parent  in  his  distraction,  the  in 
trigue-loving  aunt  alluded  to  the  strategic  arrangement 
which  she  had  made  with  the  young  lawyer,  and  by 
which  he  was  to  enact  the  part  of  rival.  And  the 
predilection  which  the  old  gentleman  had  experienced 
from  the  commencement  for  him  was  now  being  freely 
developed. 

In  the  many  argumentations  with  which  the  elders 
beguiled  themselves  upon  subjects  of  a  political  or  re 
ligious  nature,  they  were  continually  contradicting  each 
other.  Laura's  father,  under  an  unusual  pressure  of 
feeling,  tried  to  play  off  excessive  coldness  and  polite 
ness  of  demeanor  at  first,  but  finding  it  very  laborious 
and  unsuccessful,  gracefully  returned  to  his  former  man 
ner.  It  was  also  quite  a  common  occurrence  with  Nat, 


DINAH.  381 

to  see  Charles's  father  in  his  temporary  irritation  giving 
up  to  an  uncharacteristic  rage,  and  crying  out  to  the  old 
squire,  "  Now  keep  cool,  you've  lost  your  temper ;  "  or 
at  the  conclusion  of  some  story,  to  hear  him  say,  "  In 
deed  that  may  be  interesting,  but  the  story  I  told 
was  true !  "  Or  to  observe  him  carelessly  requesting 
the  other  to  produce  proofs  of  his  tales,  more  excru 
ciating  in  their  invention  than  the  narratives  them 
selves.  On  one  occasion,  when  Judge  Pithkin  and 
Dr.  Fumes  were  present,  the  young  lawyer  saw  all 
four  of  these  gentlemen  in  a  rage  at  once,  which  he 
thought  was  the  most  unique  scene  he  had  ever  wit 
nessed. 

But  the  argumentation  between  the  two  parents  was 
the  most  exemplary  species  of  social  intercourse  Nat 
thought  he  had  ever  witnessed,  and  he  impartially  as 
sisted  both  parties,  invariably  urging  them  to  the  verge 
of  infuriation  by  taking  sides  with  the  one  most  in  the 
wrong. 

"  If  you  will  just  listen  to  what  I  have  to  say," 
Charles's  father,  a  prey  to  his  continual  irritation,  would 
remark,  "  and  will  admit  the  reasons  I've  advanced, 
you  will  see  there  is  nothing  for  you  to  say." 

Whereupon  Nat  would  immediately  add,  "  In  fact, 
no  reply  can  be  made  to  that  at  least." 

Or  Laura's  parent  would  gasp  out,  "  But  all  I  want 
at  this  moment  is — don't  go  out  of  the  question — which 
is  that  you  are  wrong  and  I  am  right." 

"  Certainly  a  philosophic  and  pertinent  statement 
of  the  subject,"  interposes  Nat,  encouragingly. 


382  DINAH. 


CHAPTEE    LXI. 

THE    TARDY    REPARATION. 

THE  next  day  after  Charles's  visit  to  Dinah,  his 
father  had  arrived  at  the  place,  and  in  the  natural  flow 
of  filial  gladness  the  day  was  passed  by  the  son ;  but 
when  the  evening  came,  and  the  hour  brought  over  his 
soul  a  renewal  of  yesterday  night's  feelings,  he  seized  a 
proper  opportunity  to  seek  the  side  of  Dinah  for  a 
short  hour. 

Again  the  bright  moonlight,  the  stillness  of  the 
woods,  and  the  beating  heart  perplexed  with  doubt 
and  shadowy  misgivings.  He  soon  reached  her  thresh 
old.  It  was  the  early  hour  of  nine.  Dinah  was  ab 
sent  from  home.  The  colored  lady  looked  at  the  young 
man  inquiringly.  She  had  supposed  that  her  young 
mistress  was  taking  the  usual  pleasant  walk  with  him 
by  the  lake  or  through  the  gro've.  Charles  said  care 
lessly  that  he  would  tarry  a  little  while. 

"  Oh,  yes  !  maybe  she's  gone  to  Missus  "Wellwood's, 
Mas'r  Charles.  She  isn't  afraid  ;  she  often  goes  out  in 
these  yer  woods  alone  !  She  likes  the  woods,  and  trees, 
and  flowers,  and  those  yer  things,  'specially  at  night !  " 

Charles  held  his  peace.  Suspicions  of  increasing 
weight  pressed  upon  his  heart,  and  it  seemed  as  though 
the  cold  state  of  inanimation  were  coming  over  it.  He 
soon  made  an  effort,  however.  Wisely  unwilling  to 
alarm  the  occupants  of  her  home,  by  suggesting  fears 
of  insecurity  from  such  habits,  he  manufactured  upon 
the  spot  an  ingenuous  air  which  should  be  reported  to 
his  darling  with  the  fact  of  his  call,  which  had  been 


DINAH.  383 

unexpected,  perhaps,  from  a  knowledge  of  his  father's 
arrival.  As  he  did  not  wish,  upon  that  evening,  to  be 
noticeably  absent  from  his  own  hearthstone,  he  returned 
to  its  side,  and  sought  to  drown  his  care  in  the  social 
specialities  of  blood  relationship.  But  his  care  in 
creased  in  power  as  the  hours  wore  away,  and  even 
when  the  rest  of  the  house  were  buried  in  sleep,  he  sat 
at  his  window,  peering  foolishly  into  the  woods  and  the 
sky,  and  longing  to  unlock  from  somewhere — from  the 
air — the  secret,  the  existence  of  which  was  annoying 
him  with  the  presentiment  of  future  misery.  The  hour 
was  about  the  same  as  the  noticeable  one  of  yesternight. 
The  moon  shone  with  the  same  monotonous  lustre ;  the 
small,  ragged  clouds  hung  around  almost  in  the  same 
spots,  and  the  unwelcome  breeze  had  the  same  chilling 
power.  Misery  appeared  in  the  elements  of  the  land 
scape,  and  his  heart's  grief  was  beginning  to  tarnish 
the  outer  world.  Yes — the  hour,  the  scene,  the  unhap- 
piness  were  the  same  as  when  the  corroding  suspicion 
broke  over  his  love,  and  he  would  rise  and  seek  Dinah's 
side,  and  ask  her  to  take  away  this  disorder  from  his 
pulses.  He  would  beg  her  for  that  confidence,  without 
which  his  brains  would  be  good  for  nothing  to  make 
him  happiness  in  the  future.  Yes,  she  would  show  him 
the  honor  of  her  past  concealment,  and — Heavens ! 
what  a  cry  !  It  was  dull  from  the  distance,  but  like  a 
dying  cry,  enamelled  with  the  namby-pamby  romance 
of  his  cursed  imagination.  His  heart  leaped  towards 
the  depths  of  the  park,  for  "  Charles  !  "  he  heard  his 
own  name  in  a  clearer  way.  It  was  a  small  tone  from 
the  distance ;  but  the  solemnity  as  of  despairing  reli 
ance  upon  the  power  of  his  name  against  evil,  struck 


3S±  DINAH. 

him  with  exalted  fury,  for  it  was  littered  in  the  well- 
known  and  beloved  tones  of  his  darling ! 

"  Charles  !  Charles  !  Oh,  come  !  "  quickly  cried  that 
voice  again,  and  then  broke  off  abruptly,  as  if  this  cry 
for  his  aid  had  been  instinctive,  and  its  desperation  had 
struck  the  anguished  utterer  to  fatal  silence. 

The  young  man  did  not  surrender  his  being  to  a 
moment's  bewilderment,  though,  if  a  phantom  were 
then  deluding  him  with  a  mocking  cry  to  the  shadowy 
halls  of  another  existence,  he  would  have  chased  her  in 
his  pity  to  the  discordant  gates  ;  but  it  was  love  that 
lent  him  sagacity.  In  the  groves  of  the  park,  upon  a 
certain  dark  patch  made  in  the  pale  fl'ood  by  a  broad- 
spreading  and  prominent  elm,  the  merry  men  and  elves 
had  stopped  their  dance ;  affrighted,  some  had  fled, 
while  others  cowered  in  an  adjacent  place.  What  be 
ings  of  violence  and  wrong  were  they  who  had  come 
there  to  usurp  the  green  ring  of  the  little  fairies'  peace- 
honoring  festivity  ?  As  Charles  reached  this  spot,  with 
a  faithful  memory  of  whence  came  that  heart-striking 
appeal,  he  saw  lying  upon  the  grass  a  young  man,  en 
feebled  with  a  bloody  wound — a  tall,  lithe  form ;  and 
while  the  beauty  of  the  countenance,  amid  the  stupidity 
and  pallor  of  the  ghastly  sickness,  failed  not  to  manifest 
itself,  those  features,  which  the  observer  well  remem 
bered  to  have  seen  in  the  graveyard,  struck  him,  now 
more  determinedly,  with  their  resemblance  to  the  tradi 
tional  lineaments  of  the  old  pioneer.  Over  them  was 
bent  a  woman's  form. 

"  Oh  !  Guy,  Guy,  darling  !  "  cried  she  ;  yet  it  was 
in  despair ;  and  she  convulsively  raised  his  languid 
head  and  placed  it  upon  her  arm.  She  turned  her  face 
away  as  if  in  wretchedness,  too,  and'  the  young  lover 


D  I  K  A II . 

saw,  indeed,  the  lines  of  earthly  beauty  which  he  had 
loved  to  trace  upon  a  beloved  face.  He  ran  to  her  side. 
The  look  which  she  had  bestowed  upon  his  approach 
was  not  of  some  unearthly  being's  unconsciousness  of 
his  presence,  but  the  steady  appeal  for  aid  from  his  well- 
known  hands  in  behalf  of  earthly  anguish. 

A  thought  of  some  tragic  culmination  of  human 
passion  and  suffering,  superior  to  the  rubbish  of  his 
imagination,  thrilled  his  heart.  He  lifted  the  form  of 
the  prostrate  man,  and  held  his  drooping  head  against 
his  own  bosom,  as  the  young  girl,  while  pressing  her 
robe  against  a  stanchless  wound,  uttered  the  sorrow- 
stricken,  revealing  words :  "  Oh,  Guy,  my  brother, 
what  madness  was  in  your  brain  ?  Heaven  !  it  is  too 
late  to  save  him  !  " 

The  wounded  brother  revived,  and  Iris  waited  for  a 
moment  by  command  of  the  justice-loving  gods,  ere 
she  cut  loose  his  soul.  With  an  effort  he  raised  his 
form  to  an  erecter  posture,  and,  with  singular  gaze  and 
outstretched  arms,  fiercely  exclaimed  :  "  A  disgrace  to 
life,  I  have  got  my  deserts  from  my  own  hand  !  "  The 
tones  faltered,  and  then  rose  again.  "  Father,  father — 
Dinah,  save  his  honor  from  my  cowardly  guilt !  "  One 
alone  of  all  those  to  whom  he  wished  to  tell  the  secret, 
shuddered  as  the  hale  command  came  from  the  sinking 
man's  lungs  with  the  momentary  energy  of  absent  de 
lirium  and  recovered'  virtue.  His  head  fell  back,  and, 
as  he  looked  towards  the  sky,  Charles  saw  that  the 
traces  of  bad  passions  were  gone  from  his  face,  and 
something  of  his  sister's  soft  look  was  appearing  there. 

If 


386  DINAH. 


CHAPTEE   LXII. 


THE    CRIMINAL    BROTHER'S    WRONG. 


the  sombre  effect  of  the  stranger's  self- 
sought  death  had  relaxed  its  sway  over  Charles's 
heart,  it  was  with  deep  surprise  that  he  reflected  upon 
the  fact  that,  for  the  first  time  in  his  intimate  inter 
course  with  her,  Dinah  had  now  pronounced  the  fa 
miliar  name  of  "  brother." 

Amid  the  confusion  and  excitement  which  naturally 
attended  the  discovery,  first  to  his  own  household,  and 
then  to  the  neighborhood,  of  the  committal  of  such  a 
fatal  deed  with  its  immediate  circumstances,  and  in 
deference  to  the  profound  grief  of  the  father  and  sister 
of  the  unhappy  suicide,  Charles  repressed  his  desire  of 
an  explanation  of  the  mystery  attending  the  event,  and 
resolved  to  await  an  appropriate  time  therefor,  after 
the  usual  judicial  investigation  had  taken  place,  and 
the  sad  valediction  of  interment  was  rendered  to  the 
remains. 

The  removal  of  the  inanimate  form  by  Charles's 
domestics  from  the  park  to  the  humble  cottage  by  the 
lake,  there  to  lie  for  a  brief  period  amid  the  honor  of  a 
home,  was  the  commencement  of  an  aged  father's  an 
guish  wrhich  lasted  through  many  days.  But  the  hours 
of  consolation  which  the  daughter  devoted  to  that  grief 
were  not  expended  without  the  gratification  of  her 
pious  wish,  for  she  soon  saw  it  change  its  form,  and 
saw  his  tears  flow  but  as  those  of  humble  resignation 
to  the  will  of  Providence.  It  was  now  that  she  ex 
posed  to  Charles's  sympathy  the  past  history  of  her 


DINAH.  387 

unfortunate  brother.  Her  looks  of  varied  emotions  so 
well  interpreted  by  Charles,  perfected  with  appropriate 
adornment  a  terse  recital,  for  she  seemed  indisposed  to 
dwell  long  upon  the  retrospection  of  the  hours  of  misery 
her  brother  had  passed  through,  and  of  sorrow  which 
he  had  caused  for  others. 

Seated  in  her  humble  parlor  by  her  lover's  side,  she 
recapitulated  in  low  tones  and  with  a  smile  of  affection 
the  life  of  her  parents  in  their  early  days  and  their 
attachment ;  her  father's  gentle  manners,  and  disposi 
tion  towards  letters  ;  and  her  mother's  wildness  of  love. 
But  she  changed  her  manner  to  a  rapid  rehearsal  as  she 
was  forced  to  mention  their  subsequent  misfortunes, 
commencing  with  her  grandfather's  displeasure  and 
proceeding  through  his  bankruptcy  and  dotage,  tow 
ards  his  death  in  their  poverty-stricken  household. 
After  this,  the  facts  in  her  personal  narrative  were 
of  a  nature  which  made  her  blush  for  one  whose  por 
trait  still  hung  next  to  a  heart  beating  with  kindred 
affection.  Though  she  mentioned  them  not,  Charles  felt 
the  hours  of  sorrow  upon  the  part  of  the  upright  father 
and  the  too  fond  mother,  as  they  watched  that  son's 
wilful  career,  and  saw  his  blindness  to  the  selfish 
cruelty  of  his  life. 

Whilst  poverty  daily  scattered  with  her  skinny 
fingers  their  hard-earned  pittance,  crime  had  been 
beckoning  him  with  her  false  allurements  to  follow 
her.  The  gratification  of  his  personal  desires  had  been 
his  business,  the  procuration  of  the  means  he  seemed  to 
think  the  business  of  his  friends.  The  gambler's  un 
holy  trade,  and  the  accompanying  bowl,  were  great 
helps  in  the  march  from  mere  self-indulgence  to  in 
famy.  One  day,  and  Providence,  kindly  for  all,  ordered 


388  DINAH. 

that  it  should  be  after  the  death  of  the  too  affectionate 
mother,  the  horror  came.  Sunk  to  a  degradation 
which  took  away  even  his  manliness,  he  had  become  not 
the  dupe,  but  the  creature  of  creatures,  male  and  female ; 
and  this  too,  ere  the  fresh  hue  of  youth  was  robbed  of  its 
early  bloom.  And  yet  at  times  those  fits  of  repentance, 
those  tears  of  bitterness,  when  he  wrould  seek  the  hearth 
side  of  his  home,  had  seemed  to  give  evidence  that  his 
degradation  was  a  result  only  of  the  wilfulness  of  the 
Pompney  blood,  joined  with  destitution  of  circum 
stances,  and  did  not  usurp  entirely  his  being.  But  the 
virtuous  characteristics  of  the  father  and  mother  de 
scended  to  him,  were  subordinate  to  this  monstrous  im 
pelling  power  of  his  character,  which  drove  him  back 
continually  to  his  old  courses  of  vice.  The  longings  of 
vengeance  and  the  promptings  of  rage  against  peers  in 
vice,  in  the  ceaseless  and  necessary  quarrelling  which 
constitutes  a  part  of  such  wicked  scenes,  filled  up  his 
bosom  from  day  to  day  when  it  was  unoccupied  with 
greed  or  lower  sensuality.  The  father  occupied  the 
moments  undevoted  to  the  battle  against  poverty,  in 
stern  endeavors  to  rescue  his  offspring.  Aye,  even  while 
bending  his  form  in  the  humble  employment  of  sweep 
ing  the  streets,  he  was  forced  to  occupy  a  mind,  edu 
cated  for  refinement,  with  dubious  plans  for  his  son's 
future  ;  to  submit  a  heart,  made  for  love  and  affection, 
to  bitterness  and  anger  against  his  blood.  He  soon  lost 
his  lowly  position  ;  his  patron,  a  political  wretch,  was 
forced  to  visit  the  State's  prison  for  a  term  of  years. 
Soon  after  this  the  mother  died. 

Dinah  paused  in  her  narrative  and  bowed  her  head. 
A  few  sacred  moments  were  devoted  by  her  to  the 
cherished  memory  of  her  beloved  mother.  As  Charles 


DINAH.  389 

saw  those  filial  tears  trickle  upon  her  cheek,  his  heart 
melted  in  sharing  the  honor  of  their  presence,  and 
he  turned  his  face  in  instinctive  reverence  towards 
heaven. 

The  moment  was  come  when  she  had  to  repeat  the 
story  of  her  family's  dishonor.  Guy  forged  the  en 
dorsement  of  a  person  in  whose  service,  at  various  pe 
riods,  his  father's  penmanship  had  been  extraordinarily 
employed.  It  was  in  the  precedented,  though  exagger 
ated  form  of  a  note  by  the  latter,  anticipatory  of  his 
salary,  whose  reverend  name  and  honest  shifts,  with  the 
recklessness  of  honor,  which  characterizes  the  novice  in 
crime,  he  had  thus  also  impiously  counterfeited.  But 
indeed  his  cruelty  was  not  yet  so  mean,  as  to  cause 
him  thus  to  deliberately  expose  his  father.  No ;  the 
circumstances  were  such  as  to  lend  to  the  guilty  son's 
consideration  of  the  transaction,  the  hope,  not  uncom 
mon  as  an  element  in  such  deeds,  of  successfully  covering 
the  crime  ere  it  was  detected.  The  note  was  success 
fully  negotiated  through  specious  falsehood.  The  hour 
of  its  payment  came.  In  the  confusion  of  honor  the 
father  acknowledged  it.  He  had  hoarded  a  few  dol 
lars,  with  the  fond  hope  of  removing  with  his  offspring 
and  the  remains  of  his  wife,  to  the  scenes  of  his  glad 
boyhood.  These  in  partial  payment  delayed  the  ex 
posure  by  protest,  but  ere  the  recreant  son  could  be 
found,  it  came,  and  the  unhappy  parent  permitted  him 
self  to  be  incarcerated  upon  the  terrible  charge.  Yes, 
it  was  not  until  he  was  seated  in  the  prisoner's  box, 
that  his  sense  of  justice  and  his  duty  to  his  dear  daugh 
ter  overcame  the  distracting  wish  to  save  the  son  at  his 
own  honor  and  liberty's  expense.  From  that  degraded 
seat  he  sternly  proclaimed  aloud  that  he  was  innocent, 


390  DINAH. 

and  that  his  own  offspring  was  the  malefactor.  The 
accustomed  indifference  of  the  attorneys  to  such  declar 
ations  was  manifested  then,  and  with  the  usual  jocose 
allusions  to  the  cunning  of  shifting  the  burden  to  one 
who  was  beyond  the  pale  of  justice,  procured  his  con 
viction  by  the  jury,  although  the  penitence  which 
he  had  manifested  in  returning  part  of  the  ill-gotten 
money  was  recommended  to  them  by  the  judge. 

Guy  had  now  absconded  from  the  face  of  the  law  and 
the  stern  love  of  justice  of  his  father,  with  the  ready 
belief  that,  while  the  latter  could  clear  his  parent's 
honor  in  a  statement  of  the  truth,  he,  the  real  victim, 
would  escape  in  his  flight,  the  punishment  due  him 
from  the  former.  But  even  when  he  heard  in  his  re 
treat  of  the  blow  of  dishonor  inflicted  thus  meanly  upon 
his  own  father,  he  delayed  from  day  to  day  to  approach 
and  sacrifice  his  own  liberty.  Soon  he  heard  of  his 
father's  pardon,  and  then  more  than  ever  he  lingered. 
Night  by  night  he  plunged  in  the  crazed  crowds  of 
degradation  and  dissipation  for  temporary  relief  from 
the  stings  of  shame.  And  he  succeeded  ;  the  deed  was 
done  ;  the  sacrifice  was  a  thing  of  the  past.  New  al 
liances  with  crime  in  more  degraded  rounds  were  pro 
ductive  to  him  of  immediate  excitement.  Shame  was 
leaving  his  bosom  altogether,  and  he  became  an  object 
of  suspicion  to  the  police  of  the  distant  western  city  to 
which  he  had  fled.  His  father  disowned  him  from  the 
period  of  his  conviction  of  his  impiety,  and  sternly 
prayed  that  his  name  should  not  be  mentioned  to  him 
again,  but  with  purification  by  his  active  penance  or 
his  death. 

As  Obadiah  Baylon's  name  at  this  point  fell  from 
the  lips  of  the  pure  young  girl,  Charles  started  with 


DINAII.  391 

vehemence  and  anticipatory  anger.  He  seemed  to  feel 
it  was  necessarily  receiving  an  honor  that  it  did  not 
merit. 

The  overseer  of  Warriston's  property  in  obedience 
to  his  natural  disposition,  perhaps  idly,  was  one  day 
examining  the  records  of  the  young  man's  possessions, 
when  the  spiritual  master  he  served  placed  before  his 
evil  nature  the  flaw  in  the  record  of  the  original  Pomp- 
ney  deed.  With  the  cunning  and  secrecy  of  one  to 
whom  cunning  and  secrecy  are  always  loved  means,  he 
soon  discovered  the  true  circumstances  of  the  case.  He 
remembered  that  his  former  master,  Rudolph's  uncle, 
had  often  spoken  in  drunken  jest  of  the  cause  of  Pomp- 
ney's  latter  eccentricities,  lying  in  the  fact  that  his  wild 
hoyden  daughter  home  for  the  holidays  from  her  French 
boarding-school  had  married  his  valet.  The  estate  was 
still  in  Pompney's  heirs,  and  heirs  perhaps  were  still 
in  living  line.  He  traced  in  hope  that  line  through  a 
long  time  and  wide  space,  and  found  the  father  emerged 
from  a  felon's  residence.  The  children  were  the  heirs, 
and  while  he  loaned  the  father  money  to  pay  the  crim 
inal  debt  and  to  remove  to  Templeville,  he  smiled  upon 
the  daughter,  and  through  his  former  companions  in 
dissipation  discovered  the  abiding  place  of  the  son. 

Guy  was  the  fitted  agent  for  his  machinations.  He 
caused  him  to  believe  that  he  was  a  rich  man,  and  en 
tered  into  a  secret  compact  with  him  to  share  his  com 
ing  estate  for  putting  him  in  possession  thereof.  Under 
the  terror  of  the  law  for  a  new  pecuniary  offence,  the 
wretched  young  man  readily  consented  to  the  propo 
sition  of  Baylon,  that  he  should  sink  his  existence  in 
oblivion  until  such  time  as  those  difficulties  could  be 
settled,  and  circumstances  should  be  ready  for  him  and 


392  DINAH. 

his  sister  to  come  forward  and  lay  claim  to  the  estate. 
Those  circumstances  lay  wholly  in  the  necessity  of  the 
abstraction  of  the  original  deed  from  the  depository  of 
Charles's  family,  in  which  he  had  discovered  it  existed, 
and,  by  a  strategic  production  therefrom,  and  a  dis 
creet  inspection,  had  also  discovered  a  correctness  in  its 
details  fatal  to  his  eager  expectancy. 

Aware  of  the  stern  sense  of  duty  of  the  father,  which 
still  manifested  itself  amid  the  evidences  of  a  declining 
spirit,  Baylon  wisely  refrained  from  developing  his 
plan  to  him.  The  young  girl  was  a  necessary  party, 
and  her  mind  was  to  be  prepared,  through  her  brother, 
to  sustain  her  part  as  claimant.  Thus,  when  Guy  was 
carefully  brought  up  to  the  neighborhood  of  Pompney 
Place,  and  secreted  in  the  old  hut  in  the  woods,  he  was 
secure  from  the  police  and  the  opposition  of  the  father, 
and  adjacent  to  his  sister,  who  would  give  him  her  lov 
ing  aid,  while  he  should  rejoice  her  with  the  prospect 
of  future  wealth  and  happiness. 

The  misery  of  the  wretched  young  man  was  so  pro 
found,  the  degradation  of  his  servility  to  Baylon  so 
shameful  and  irresistible,  that  the  sister  kept  the  secret 
of  his  proximity  from  the  suffering  heart  of  the  father, 
until  an  amelioration  should  take  place  in  the  wretched 
young  man's  condition,  which  she  would  strive  to  pro 
duce.  It  was  during  this  period  that  the  delirium  of 
his  excess  at  times  renewed  itself,  invariably  possessing 
the  elements  of  a  sorrowing  desire  to  see  his  mother, 
and  a  fearing  aversion  for  his  father.  It  was  the  natu 
ral  result,  of  his  education  ;  for  it  said  that,  in  this  de 
lirium,  the  mind  seeks  for  protection  against  imagined 
foes,  from  those  they  most  love  ;  and  it  was  his  mother 
who  fondly  shielded  him  from  punishment,  from  tke 


DINAH.  393 

sternness  of  the  father,  which  constituted  him,  on  the 
other  hand,  as  the  imaginary  enemy.  The  filial  awe 
and  reverence  was  'erected  into  fear,  and  the  imagined 
enemy  of  delirious  wickedness  would  naturally  be  such. 
The  father  had  manifested  his  feelings  to  his  son,  not 
by  blows,  but  by  sorrowful  looks  and  words  of  princi 
ple  ;  and  such  punishment  of  the  young  man's  soul  was 
reinforced  by  the  blow  of  dishonor  which  he  knew 
that  he  had  given  his  parent,  reacting  upon  his  own 
conscience  ;  though  it  was  no  longer  able  to  rescue  him 
from  a  slavery  of  habits  and  of  thought,  which  pre 
vented  his  atonement  of  that  bitter  wrong. 

On  the  occasion  of  Charles's  dream,  then,  the  wretch 
ed  brother,  being  in  the  wood  and  hiding  from  the 
presence  of  men,  wandered  in  semi-aberration  to  Di 
nah,  but  still  in  the  cunning  of  his  fear  of  approaching 
his  father,  seeking  her  with  a  secret  call.  It  was  late. 
Knowing  the  power  of  her  father's  name  to  keep  him 
quiet,  she  resolved  to  conceal  him  in  her  room  until 
early  daylight,  and  then  return  with  him  to  his  hiding- 
place.  To  beguile  his  thoughts,  she  diverted  them  to 
the  channel  into  which  they  easily  flowed,  and  told 
him  such  facts  as  she  had  learned  of  her  father,  about 
her  mother's  young  life  in  that  very  house,  her  favorite 
room,  and  its  romance.  Physically  wearied,  and  her 
young  soul,  too,  seeking  relief,  she  fell  asleep  when  he 
began  to  rest.  She  awoke  to  find  him  absent,  and 
glided  quickly  down-stairs.  In  the  corridor,  as  she 
was  attracted  by  the  noise  of  the  cat,  she  bethought 
herself  of  her  mother's  room  at  the  distant  end.  He 
had  indeed  sought  it,  and  she  discovered  him  seated 
there  in  fortunate  quiet,  produced  by  the  sorrow  of  his 
hallucination.  Charles  recalled  her  motionless  attitude 
17* 


394  DINAII. 

of  circumspection,  and  reflected  upon  the  curious  though 
natural  working  of  his  brain,  which  had  transformed 
this  reality  into  a  romance.  She  led  her  brother  away 
to  the  room  above,  and  stopped  his  inquiry  by  an  ap 
peal  to  her  father's  name ;  and  while  they  two  stood 
motionless  upon  the  staircase  above,  Charles  sought  the 
halls  below.  While  the  young  man  now  remembered 
the  wild  feelings  which  followed  the  belief  that  he  had 
experienced  a  supernatural  vision  of  the  past,  he  was 
beginning  to  feel  emotions  which  were  deeper,  sadder, 
and  more  romantic  even  than  they. 

Although  the  sister  warned  Guy  not  to  come  from 
his  secrecy  in  the  hours  of  daylight,  he  at  times  ap 
peared  recklessly  in  places  to  which  his  excited  fancy 
drove  him.  Thus,  after  high-wrought  conversations 
with  Baylon,  he  would  visit  the  scene  of  his  possessions, 
and  view  it  from  the  park,  or  from  prominent  points 
in  the  adjacent  landscape.  Upon  one  occasion,  puffed 
up  with  his  prospective  affluence,  and  mad  with  liquor, 
he  proposed  to  himself  to  visit  a  scene  of  festivity  in 
the  village,  (to  which  Baylon  had  referred  in  his  pres 
ence,)  proudly  conscious  that  he  was  of  the  .Pompney 
blood,  and  better  than  all  of  them,  despite  his  rags ! 
Baylon  met  him  emerging  from  his  hiding-place  at 
evening,  and  after  useless  dissuasion,  received  with  vio 
lence,  sought  the  aid  of  Dinah's  influence.  Interrupted 
by  Mrs.  ]S~orcomb,  she  quickly  assigned  a  place  of  meet 
ing  in  the  town  with  Baylon,  and  thus  reached  the  fes 
tive  gardens  before  him. 

"  I  soon  searched  and  found  my  brother  there,  se 
cluded  amid  the  foliage  of  the  park,  and  afraid  to  go 
into  the  hall.  Still,  when  I  strove  to  urge  him  away, 
he  attacked  me  with — with  bitterness,  and  said  I  was 


DINAH.  395 

ashamed  of  my  blood.  At  last  I  reached  Obadiah, 
with  whom,  after  a  while,  Guy  consented  to  go  away, 
as  he  was  wearied  with  the  rain  and  the  darkness." 

"  By  the  double  power  of  threats  of  delivering  Guy 
to  the  police,  and  appeals  to  my  friendship,  Obadiah 
hoped  to  manage  me,  even  after  he  saw  that  I  was  op 
posed  to  his  apparent  professions  of  interest.  I  had  not 
yet  learned  the  secret  of  the  existence  of  the  truthful 
deed,  although  he  had  confided  to  me,  as  well  as  to 
Guy,  a  knowledge  of  the  defective  record.  He  soon 
discovered  that  his  scheme  seemed  to  me,  even  under 
those  circumstances,  an  outrage  ;  for  I  plainly  proposed 
that  Guy  and  I  should  transfer  our  right,  if  any  should 
appear  to  exist,  to  those  who  had  given  a  value  for  the 
property,  and  should  not  be  subjected  to  pecuniary  an 
noyance  from  a  technicality  of  the  letter.  He  threat 
ened  Guy's  exposure  in  answer  to  this,  and  commenced 
his  attempt  to  drive  me  from  your  honorable  mansion, 
and  from  the  support  in  my  opposition  to  him,  which 
I  would  be  gaining  in  resting  there.  His  power  was 
sufficient  to  keep  me  silent,  and  I  waited  from  day  to 
day  for  a  brighter  hour,  when  I  might  relieve  my  bro 
ther  from  his  fatal  position.  The  money  I  then  received 
from  Mrs.  Norcomb,  I  felt  easily  justified  in  taking 
from  her,  for  it  was  for  a  good  cause.  One  element  of 
Obadiah's  power  over  us  I  lessened  by  it." 

"  With  Guy  I  passed  many  bitter  hours,  for  his 
mind  was  thoroughly  abased  to  his  wicked  friend's 
plans.  Still  I  watched  him  with  all  the  care  I  could 
bestow  upon  him.  I  met  him  at  night,  and  rowed 
about  upon  the  pleasant  lake,  or  walked  with  him  in 
the  woods  ;  and  when  I  could  refrain  from  entreating 
him  to  rouse  and  free  himself  from  the  horrible  snares 


396  DINAH. 

about  him,  I  endeavored  to  insinuate  into  his  wishes 
promises  of  happiness  from  a  virtuous  future.  But  it 
was  in  vain.  Urged  by  Baylon,  who  saw  it  could  be 
an  easy  matter,  in  spite  of  Guy's  reckless  habits  of  dis 
sipation,  and  a  safe  one  for  himself,  Guy  attempted  to 
abstract — to  steal  the  deed  from  the  cabinet.  From 
some  angered  remarks,  defiantly  uttered  in  partial  in 
toxication,  I  had  been  forewarned  by  his  own  wilful 
lips  of  an  indefinite  horror  of  this  nature.  I  watched, 
and  he  came  in  a  still  hour  of  the  night.  I  prevented 
the  perpetration  of  this  additional  crime  by  the  hands 
of  my  brother,  but  he  was  mad — he  was  delirious  with 
wine  and  evil  thoughts  !  He  wounded  me  as  I  resisted 
him.  Oh,  Guy,  my  brother  !  " — She  paused.  "  No, 
no,  he  could  not  have  been  so  base,  he  could  not  have 
meant  it,  with  all  his  frenzy  and  anger !  " 

"  Obadiah  had  absented  himself  from  prudence,  or 
in  pleasing  expectation.  I  had  often  before  this,  and 
especially  when  your  dear  kindness  sought  for  my  con 
fidence,  longed  to  reveal  to  you  the  troubles  which  were 
upon  us ;  for,  in  spite  of  the  fears  that  Baylon  might 
forge  some  successful  counter-tale,  I  felt,"  continued 
she,  blushing  while  she  attempted  to  conceal  with  a 
pleasantry  the  existence  of  her  love  at  that  period,  "  I 
felt  that  one  who  was  not  remarkable  for  saying  any 
thing  worth  listening  to,  Charlie,  ought  to  possess  the 
opposite  virtue,  at  least,  of  discreetly  managing  a  se 
cret.  But  now  I  felt  it  to  be  my  duty  towards  you  and 
your  family  to  tell  the  story  of  our  shame.  "While  I 
delayed,  from  day  to  day,  the  consciousness  that  I  was 
each  moment  hiding  a  wrong  haunted  me.  But  still, 
the  thought  of  the  threats  of  Obadiah,  the  annihilation 
of  hopes  of  Guy's  reformation  by  his  exposure,  and  my 


DINAH.  397 

father's  coming  anguish,  deterred  me.  Charles,  was  I 
right  ?  I  was  young ;  my  judgment  may  have  been 
disturbed  by  my  heart ;  but  wasn't  I — wasn't  I  right  ?  " 

When  Charles  saw  this  young  girl  pleading  for  his 
decision  to  sustain  her  own  delicate  sense  of  her  be 
havior,  he  felt  as  though  he  would  have  died  to  take 
back  his  past.  He  now  saw  that  her  confusion  and 
distraction,  which  in  his  blindness,  upon  the  day  before 
her  dismissal  from  the  house,  he  had  taken  to  be  an 
acknowledgment  of  guilt,  was  distraction  caused  by  her 
very  honor,  by  a  distracted  desire  to  protect  her  father 
and  brother,  and  yet  the  interests  of  her  employer. 
Tie  turned  away  in  self-shame.  Dinah  said  naught 
respecting  that  occasion,  and  at  this  point,  as  she 
noticed  his  manner,  she  cast  a  melting  look  into  his 
eyes,  and  rising,  threw  her  arms  about  his  neck  and 
kissed  his  lips. 

"  Obadiah  now  threatened  to  deliver  up  Guy,  if 
I  disclosed  a  word  respecting  the  deed.  My  threats, 
in  return,  of  criminating  him  were  of  small  avail,  but  I 
still  thought  by  secrecy  to  save  my  father  from  wretch 
edness,  to  free  my  brother  from  his  voluntary  submission 
to  Baylon's  influence.  Obadiah  had  still  hope  of  ob 
taining  the  deed  after  Guy's  attempt,  either  by  taking 
away  my  power  by  dismissal,  or  through  Guy's  inter 
ference  with  my  resolve.  A  month  elapsed.  I  had 
paid  him  the  remainder  of  his  debt  with  the  money 
which  you  gave  me,  and  when  I  resolved  to  take  the 
additional  sum  which  your  kindness,  dear  friend,  of 
fered  to  our  poverty,  it  was  with  the  resolve  to  tell  you 
as  much  of  the  hidden  fact  as  should  protect  your  in 
terests.  I  clothed  Guy  in  a  new  suit  of  clothes.  I 
had  revealed  the  secret  to  one  friend  alone,  the  faithful 


398  DINAH. 

colored  girl,  Judith,  and  she  had  assisted  me  in  attend 
ing  to  Guy's  wants  in  the  old  charcoal-burner's  deserted 
hut,  which  successfully  served  as  his  refuge  from  the 
unusual  facilities  for  detection  of  the  present  day.  But 
at  this  period  she  went  away  to  Canada." 

"  I  now  defied  the  wickedness  of  Obadiah.  In  the 
midst  of  his  anger,  he  knew  that  I  had  a  powerful  and  be 
lieving  friend  in  you,  and  soon  also  became  frightened 
with  the  fear  that  I  might  interfere  with  his  relations 
with  his  employer.  Indeed,  he  saw  that  a  divulge- 
ment  of  Guy's  presence  would  only  be  an  act  of  revenge 
which  would  injure  himself  as  well  as  our  family.  But 
with  the  sight  of  money,  Guy  appeared  to  brighten  up 
from  his  sullied  degradation.  Instead  of  abuse  uttered 
against  those  whom  he  said  were  his  persecutors,  he 
quietly  acceded  to  my  proposition,  that  as  much  money 
as  we  could  spare  should  be  devoted  to  refunding  the 
money  of  false  pretence,  for  which  he  had  become 
legally  amenable.  He  seemed,  indeed,  to  be  resisting 
his  own  habits,  and  to  be  awakening  to  the  true  char 
acter  of  Obadiah.  With  fitful  bravery  he  even  pro 
posed  to  make  the  requital  to  father,  by  offering  him 
self  now  to  the  course  of  the  law.  But  while  he  cried 
and  persisted  in  promising  it  to  his  honor,  he  shuddered, 
more  perhaps  at  his  own  shame,  than  from  any  prospect 
of  losing  his  liberty.  He  wished,  at  least  ere  he  saw 
his  father,  to  venture  to  his  friends  in  Rochester,  who 
would  assist  him,  he  said,  and  in  answer  to  my  en 
treaties  and  opposition,  he  chided  me  with  bitter  taunts 
of  a  want  of  love.  I  foolishly  permitted  him  to  go. 
Perhaps  I  could  not  have  helped  it.  I  may  not  have 
done  better." 

"  It  was  but  the  other  night,  even  while  a  conviction 


DINAH.  399 

of  his  continued  degradation,  prophetic  of  his  future, 
pressed  upon  my  happiness,  that  he  announced  his  re 
turn  in  the  eccentric  tones  of  intemperance,  and  I  started 
from  your  side  in  fear  of  a  new  flight  by  him  from  the 
consequences  of  crime.  I  took  him  that  night  to  our 
home,  to  his  injured  father's  presence,  who  bent  over 
him  in  forgiveness.  The  excesses  of  a  delirious  life  had 
permanently  maddened  his  nature.  Remorse  and  wild 
defiant  hope  shared  possession  of  him  after  that  inter 
view.  He  insisted  upon  proudly  seeing  the  rightful 
possessions  of  his  mother,  and  there  he — Charles,  dar 
ling,  I  kept  the  secret  of  his  dishonor  from  you,  from 
the  world,  until  I  might  save  him  from  his  habits,  but 
it  was  too  late — it  was  too  late  !  Yet  when  my  father 
looked  upon  his  face  so  much  like  dear  mother's,  he  had 
been  spared  the — the — " 

Charles  sought  to  wipe  away  the  tears  from  her 
eyes,  and  held  her  hand  in  honoring  silence.  Ho 
would  fain  then  occupy  his  mind  with  an  approving 
contemplation  of  her  judgment  in  guarding  the  sorrow 
ful  secret,  for  her  self-denial,  thus  shown  to  be  so  noble 
in  its  unconscious  bravery,  pained  his  bosom  with  a  fear 
that  he  was  unworthy  of  one  who  could  possess  such. 


CHAPTER   LXIII. 

THE    MOTHER    VISITS    DINAH. 

•  THE  community  was  aroused  to  an  unusual  excite 
ment,  both  by  the  promulgation  of  the  event  and  the 
subsequent  knowledge  of  the  past  history  of  the  unfor- 


4:00  DINAH. 

tunate  young  man.  But  after  a  judicial  examination 
of  the  affair  and  the  nine  days  were  elapsed,  it  became 
the  cause  of  but  common-place  emotions  in  the  neigh 
boring  mind.  The  usual  compassionate  horror  was 
shown  for  the  rash  deed  by  which  he  deprived  himself 
of  earthly  existence,  but  a  virtuous  indignation  at  the  life 
of  dissipation  which  it  ended,  soon  usurped  its  place. 

Though  the  father  would  have  had  the  secret  of 
his  son's  dishonor  buried  with  his  mortal  being,  the 
facts  elicited  from  Charles,  as  the  witness  of  his  death, 
were  necessarily  followed  by  an  exposition  of  the  boy's 
life  of  guilt  and  dissipation  ;  and  above  all,  of  the  crime 
of  impiety  of  which  he  had  been  guilty.  While  many 
a  bosom  swelled  with  sympathy  for  the  aged  man  who 
had  thus  been  obliged  to  bear  the  cross  of  social  ex 
piation  for  his  offspring,  the  discussion  of  the  circum 
stances  often  relieved  pity  of  its  force  in  producing  the 
argument  of  parental  shiftlessness  and  neglect  of  train 
ing. 

Charles  had  ere  this  exerted  himself  to  remove  the 
imputation  which  had  rested  upon  Dinah's  own  char 
acter,  in  connection  with  the  midnight  occurrence  in  the 
library  of  his  house,  by  making  use  of  the  mere  palli 
ative  plea  of  a  natural  curiosity  on  her  part  to  examine 
ancestral  papers.  But  the  believing  or  •unbelieving- 
minds  of  those  who  had  been  cognizant  of  that  event 
and  of  the  subsequent  trial,  nevertheless  contained  a 
prejudice  against  her,  great  enough  to  corroborate  their 
comprehensive  conclusion,  that  the  family,  though  of 
respectable  derivation  on  one  side,  had  sunk  into  a  kind 
of  social  recklessness  and  degradation  with  the  weight 
of  poverty.  And  now,  besides  the  repugnance  of 
Dinah's  feelings  as  a  sister  to  the  publication  of  that 


DINAH.  401 

event  as  a  criminal  attempt  of  her  brother's,  the  knowl 
edge  of  the  eccentric  instincts  of  human  nature  in  the 
mass  would  have  been  enough  perhaps  to  deter  Charles 
therefrom.  Dinah,  at  least,  well  knew  that  a  greater 
stain  would  in  all  probability  come  upon  her  thus  in 
directly  than  the  one  she  now  bore  from  the  public 
misapprehension,  lying  either  in  the  addition  to  the 
atrocity  of  Guy's  character,  or  in  her  wrongful  attempt 
to  shield  him  in  his  crimes  from  lawful  punishment. 

This  was  indeed  the  weaker  stuff  made  of  human 
prejudice  and  inevitable  circumstance,  which  time 
might  possibly  unravel.  The  supposed  wrongs  in 
flicted  upon  society  by  the  parent  had  been  required 
as  a  foundation,  too,  for  the  character  of  unreliability 
and  moral  recklessness,  into  which  this  woof  of  impu 
tation,  made  by  Dinah's  attempt  to  rescue  her  brother 
from  misery,  had  been  worked,  chiefly  perhaps,  by  the 
antipathetic  but  self-justified  measures  of  Charles's 
mother.  But  in  the  *  incessant  weaving  of  popular 
opinion,  human  nature  did  not  fail  in  the  firm  recon 
struction  of  this  prejudice,  rendered  necessary  by  the 
late  events,  and  in  spite  of  a  certain  amount  of  honor 
which  was  acknowledged  to  be  attached  to  them.  The 
brother's  wickedness,  at  least,  was  rightful  material  to 
be  used. 

Time  wore  away.  The  recital  of  Dinah  had  filled 
Charles  with  feelings  which  he  would  not  profane  by 
anger  in  her  presence,  for  her  manner  taught  him  some 
thing  of  that  spirit  which  is  the  quintessence  of  woman 
liness,  akin  to  an  angelic  nature.  "When  he  recounted 
that  narrative  of  honor  to  his  mother,  her  love  for  her 
offspring  and  her  pride  of  heart  received  rude  blows 
from  his  impulsive  work,  though  she  saw  his  filial  re- 


4.02  DINAH. 

spect.  The  honor  which  he  paid  his  theme  was  the 
source  of  her  self-shame,  and  even  if  he  made  no  angry- 
mention,  as  he  once  had,  of  the  deeds  of  her  active  an 
tipathy,  she  well  knew  that  they  lent  energy  to  his 
earnest  appeal  to  admire,  to  love  the  young  girl.  Her 
admiration  she  gave,  for  it  was  by  the  cold  command 
of  her  intellect ;  but  no  love  yet  warmed  her  heart  for 
one  who,  though  sincere  and  honorable,  was  still  a 
stumbling  block  of  fate  in  the  path  of  her  child's 
future.  What  was  this  recital  to  her,  after  her  pity 
recovered  its  balance,  but  a  change  in  the  form  of  the 
social  degradation  which  was  attached  to  the  girl's 
name. 

Yes,  while  the  memory  of  the  son  and  brother 
seemed  more  sullying  than  any  thing  before,  perhaps 
the  father's  innocence  and  the  child's  heroism  were  out 
balanced  in  her  mind  simply  by  a  prophetic  thought  of 
the  sneer  with  which  society  would  hear  of  their  self- 
told  virtue ;  the  unspoken  accusation  that  they  were 
willing  to  comparatively  hide  their  own  disrepute  by 
blackening  the  character  of  their  suicide,  unanswering 
relative. 

Recent  events  connected  with  the  financial  condi 
tion  of  her  family  fortified  her  inclinations  with  a  sense 
of  duty,  and  while  Charles  sternly  discussed  the  proper 
methods  of  effectually  punishing  the  scoundrel,  Bay- 
Ion,  or  observed  with  pleasure  the  degree  of  respect 
which  was  paid,  amid  the  natural  flow  of  social  inter 
course,  in  his  father's  household,  to  his  sympathy  with 
Dinah's  sorrow,  his  mother  thought  in  secret  in  another 
way. 

She  saw,  indeed,  that  it  remained  only  to  appeal  to 
the  young  girl  to  save  her  son  from  what  she  would 


DINAH.  403 

have  deemed  a  dishonor  to  him,  even  were  it  not  a 
misfortune.  She  rose  in  energy,  and  ordering  her  car 
riage  drove  to  the  humble  cottage  in  which  Dinah  lived, 
at  an  hour  when  her  son  was  not  there. 

Her  manner  upon  this  visit  would  have  led  one  to 
designate  her  going  and  coming  as  a  stealing  to  and 
away  from  the  house.  Were  those  two  beings  who 
met  on  this  occasion  equals,  or  which  was  the  superior 
and  to  whom  was  owed  the  courteous  bow  ?  They  were 
both  actuated  by  their  love  for  one  object,  although  the 
blush  upon  Dinah's  face  would  have  revealed  another, 
had  not  its  object's  moral  vision  been  blinded  by  the 
darkness  of  a  mother's  pride. 

With  all  the  energy  of  her  last  hope,  she  com 
menced  to  appeal  in  sincere  and  heart-felt  tones  to  the 
girl  to  give  up  her  son.  She  would  confess  the  bitter 
infatuation  of  his  passionate  nature,  which  would  lead 
him  even  to  sacrifice  the  future  happiness  of  his  parents 
and  his  own  to  its  temporary  sway.  A  smile,  almost 
of  scorn,  passed  over  her  listener's  face,  as  she  sug 
gested  the  evanescence  of  her  son's  passion.  She  might 
fondly  wish  to  believe  that  his  love  was  not  eternal, 
but  Dinah  deemed  she  possessed  no  right  to  use  this 
thought  as  a  means  to  her  end,  however  justifiable  the 
latter  may  have  been.  Surely  it  was  not  her  love  for 
her  son  which  prompted  her  here,  but  the  erring  weak 
ness,  the  wilful  harshness  of  her  pride,  which  refused 
to  concede  even  that  he  loved  Dinah,  for  she  seemed 
sincere.  She  touched  delicately,  however,  upon  the 
position  of  Dinah,  which  resulted  from  the  criminal 
stain  upon  her  family,  and  perhaps  she  might  have 
been  spared  the  unhappiness  of  recapitulating  the 
various  evil  results  which  would  flow  therefrom  upon 


404:  DINAH. 

the  future  of  her  son,  in  the  event  of  this  misalliance  ; 
for  how  often  had  her  young  listener  gone  wearily  over 
the  same  imagined  ground,  and  how  often  had  she 
stopped  at  bitter  conclusions  before  her. 

But  the  mother  proceeded  to  allude  to  the  natural 
centralization  in  Charles,  of  all  the  hopes  which  ani 
mated  her  breast  and  that  of  his  father ;  the  hope  of  an 
honorable  future  for  him ;  a  high,  irreproachable  sta 
tion  in  society,  doing  good  to  himself  and  the  world 
through  the  dignity  of  his  position.  She  then  referred 
to  the  prospective  state  of  his  circumstances,  should  she 
not  release  him  from  his  infatuation  but  carry  it  to  a 
union.  He  would  be  estranged  forever  from  his  parents 
and  their  love.  How  could  it  be  righteously  otherwise, 
when  they  saw  the  return  for  their  years  of  care  and 
anxiety,  an  insensate,  selfish  blasting  of  their  only 
hopes  ?  Should  they  not  rightly  drive  him  from  their 
doors  for  the  selfish  gratification  of  his  passion? 
Though  her  listener  cared  not  defiantly  to  discuss  this 
question,  she  saw  the  consequent  misery  which  would 
be  felt  by  Charles,  were  such  a  measure  executed. 

The  mother  then  proceeded  to  refer  to  the  unwritten 
laws  which  society  enforces  with  perhaps  more  rigidity 
than  its  written  ones.  However  harsh  and  unjust  it 
might  seem  that  the  sins  of  an  individual  should  be 
visited  upon  the  reputation  and  social  standing  of  his 
innocent  kin,  it  was  nevertheless  true  that  they  were  ; 
and  no  matter  how  high-spirited  the  victim  of  atone 
ment  might  be,  he  had  to  succumb.  Society  knew 
nothing  about  the  atoning  features  of  the  criminal  as 
pect  of  their  reputations.  Charles  and  his  children 
would  have  to  bear  the  quiet  taunt  of  society  at  his 
marriage  with  the  near  relative  of  a  criminal,  though 


DINAH.  405 

lie  furiously  denied  its  right  to  utter  that  taunt.  So 
ciety  would  regard  his  right  to  its  respect  for  the  purity 
of  his  love,  only  so  far  as  that  right  did  not  interfere 
with  its  own.  And  in  another  way  would  society 
punish  him,  (reasoned  she,  earnestly.)  It  would  punish 
him  for  his  selfish  sacrifice  of  his  parents'  happiness  to 
his  own  ;  for,  with  its  unfailing  severity  of  logic,  it 
would  reflect  that  he  had  no  right  to  force  upon  them 
the  consequences  of  a  stained  alliance,  though  he  him 
self  might  be  willing  to  bear  the  spot.  Though  his 
parents  were  wrong  in  every  other  way,  they  here  had 
a  right  which  society  would  sustain  them  in.  Society 
(continued  she)  would  also  visit  evil  consequences  upon 
him  in  return  for  the  impaired  usefulness  of  career 
which  would  probably  be  the  result  of  this  marriage. 
And  in  this  manner,  while  unfolding  various  cross  re 
lations  of  the  rights  and" duties  of  Charles,  his  parents 
and  society,  she  did  not  fail  at  the  conclusion  of  each 
consideration  to  show  the  evil  consequence  which  would 
result  to  her  son. 

If  Dinah  then  banished  from  her  mind  the  consider 
ation  of  these  bitter  and  truthful  conclusions  as  no 
matter  of  conscience  for  her,  she  well  knew  her  love 
could  not  fill  up  these  shortcomings  in  his  happiness  ; 
for  what  would  be  its  power  over  him  when  he  had  to 
bear  all  these  sacrifices,  and  knew  that  she  had  delib 
erately  and  selfishly  called  for  them  ? 

"  But  am  I  not  wronging  his  love,  and  will  not  my 
love  be  a  compensation  for  all "  cried  she,  in  her  dis 
traction. 

The  mother  now  said  that  it  was  not  her  intention 
to  force  Charles  by  any  threats  of  disinheritance,  nor 
would  she  now  appeal  for  their  own  feelings,  but  only 


406  DINAH. 

for  Charles's  future  they  thought  to  oppose  his  union 
with  her.  While  she  spoke,  an  agitation  which  she 
could  not  control  seemed  suddenly  to  seize  her,  and  in 
a  low  tone  she  spoke  with  hesitation  of  a  point  which 
she  had  hitherto  concealed.  She  had  not  referred  at 
all,  upon  the  present  occasion,  to  the  ardent  desire 
which  she  had  long  had,  that  a  union  should  take  place 
between  her  son  and  the  daughter  of  her  neighbor, 
Wellwood ;  and  now,  when  she  brouglit  up  the  sub 
ject  of  that  union,  she  did  not  produce  her  desire 
therefor,  as  a  subject  for  Dinah's  consideration,  but 
stated  with  much  confusion  and  abashment  that  the 
marriage  between  Charles  and  Laura  had  now  become  a 
matter  of  necessity  to  his  future.  For  some  time  past 
in  mercantile  circles,  strange  convulsions  had  been 
taking  place,  by  which  the  oldest  firms  in  America  had 
been  shaken  ;  among  these  (and  she  stated  this  without 
any  injunction  of  confidence,  for  she  knew  the  honor 
of  the  girl's  character)  was  her  husband's  house.  Bank 
ruptcy  stared  them  in  the  face,  and  but  one  expedient 
appeared  which  would  save  them  from  pecuniary  ruin. 
Her  husband  in  conference  with  Laura's  father  upon 
the  union  of  their  children,  had  revealed  the  precarious 
condition  of  his  affairs,  with  the  foreboding  of  a  situ 
ation  which  he  had  once  laughed  at  as  impossible. 
Laura's  father  then  more  urgently  pressed  the  im 
mediate  union  between  his  daughter  and  Charles. 
The  business  of  the  father  would  be  the  chief  inheri 
tance  of  the  son,  and  once  married  the  interest  of  the 
husband  would  become  the  firm  and  whole-souled  in 
terest  of  the  wife.  Her  money  might  then  be  haz 
arded  in  protecting  that  interest,  and  he  very  reason 
ably  showed  that  however  great  the  friendship  between 


D  I  N  A  JI .  407 

the  two  families,  and  however  slight  the  risk,  it  would 
be  violating  his  duty,  as  a  parent  to  permit  such  a  dis 
position  of  its  use,  in  any  other  case. 

"  Charles  does  not  love  her !  "  cried  the  girl,  in  a 
kind  of  horror. 

"  Dinah,"  said  the  mother,  earnestly,  "  he  loves  her 
— loves  her,  and  would  marry  her,  could  he  forget  you. 
And  she  would  love  him.  Oh,  Dinah !  think  of  the 
misery  he  will  be  put  to,  from  which  he  might  be 
saved !  " 

The  young  girl  hunted  with  the  eagerness  of  im 
prisoned  hope  over  these  circumstances,  thus  arrayed 
around  her,  to  find  some  flaw  from  which  they  would 
fall  to  pieces  with  reason's  touch.  But  this  last  thought 
of  impending  disaster  to  Charles  rendered  her  reason 
helpless  in  rescuing  her.  She  was  no  longer  the  an 
tagonist  of  the  mother  or  of  any  human  being,  but  of 
fate.  Even  had  she  lightly  considered  ere  this  the 
social  stain,  she  now  felt  that  when  years  of  passion 
were  over  which  it  should  help  to  embitter,  those  of 
toil  would  continue  which  it  would  help  to  aggravate. 
The  love  of  his  nearest  and  most  loved  friends  would 
rightfully  be  taken  from  him,  and  the  incessant  vex 
ation  of  these  results,  of  his  selfish  folly  and  her  selfish 
wickedness,  would  wear  away  in  bitterness  and  unhap- 
piness  years  which  could  have  been  devoted  to  cheerful 
usefulness,  and  over  which  her  love  would  be  power 
less. 

"  Yes,  yes,"  thought  the  girl,  in  a  kind  of  sympa 
thetic  energy,  though  she  bowed  her  head  in  silence, 
"  if  it  were  I  only  to  suifer !  But  how  will  he  have  to 
work  his  hands  in  the  unaccustomed  labor  of  some 
miserable  routine,  to  rack  his  thoughts  in  bitter  calcu- 


408  DINAH. 

lation.  And  what  for,  but  to  provide  the  heartless  cause 
of  his  suffering  with  her  daily  food  and  raiment.  And 
what  right  have  I  to  break  the  heart  of  his  father,  or 
sadden  the  life  of  this  mother,  whose  love  for  her  child 
is  so  great,  that  she  could  err  even  to  protect  his  hap 
piness  which  she  thinks  in  danger.  But  oh,  cannot — 
cannot  I  share  his  love  with  them  ?  "No,  it  must  not  be. 
Oh  be  true  to  yourself  and  conquer  these  feelings.  It 
is  for  his  sake.  I  won't  be  a  fool !  He  will  be  better 
off,  and  those  whom  he  loves  will  be  saved  from  mis 
ery.  Yes,"  said  she,  and  there  was  a  kind  of  strange 
cheerfulness  in  her  soul,  "  and  in  the  varied  scenes  of 
life,  and  with  the  new  enjoyments  and  excitements 
which  his  honorable  ambition  will  bring  in  a  useful 
career,  the  feelings  of  regret  will  wear  away,  and  I 
shall  be  his  beloved  friend  and  the  friend  of  those 
whom  he  loves,  and  all  will  be  well.  For  do  I  not 
now  feel  that  I  am  able  to  give  him  up,  and  it  is  but 
for  a  few  short  years,  and  then  God  will  make  it  right, 
if  it  be  not  so  now." 

The  mother,  in  fine,  endeavoring  to  extract  a  prom 
ise  from  her,  which  she  refused  to  utter  and  bitterly 
denied  the  right  to  extort,  went  away  with  disappoint 
ment  and  irritated  misgiving,  but  yet  with  a  hope. 

The  hour  after  she  left  was  the  Thermopylae  of  the 
girl's  existence.  In  her  high-wrought  vehemence,  she 
poured  out  to  her  Friend  in  a  kind  of  heart-welling 
way,  her  irrepressible  and  stanchless  feelings.  After 
wards  came  the  solemn  heart's  ease  and  peace  of  mind 
of  purity. 

This  was  the  first  love  of  a  young  heart,  and  char 
acterized  by  the  high  honor  and  exquisite  delicacy  of 
first  love.  If  she  erred,  she  erred  for  his  sake.  Un- 


DINAH,  409 

selfishness  was  the  rule  of  her  life,  or  if  it  was  not,  she 
had  a  cunning  insight  into  the  hopes  beyond  life  for 
reward. 


CHAPTER   LXIY. 

THE   COTTESE   OF  LOVE. 

THE  thoughts  which  now  passed  in  Dinah's  mind 
were  such  as  were  to  be  borne  in  silent  anguish  in  the 
present,  without  the  hope  that  their  poignancy  would 
diminish  with  the  progress  of  time.  In  her  lonely 
moments  the  horrid  darkness  which  seemed  to  involve 
her  fate  was  preferable  to  the  radiance  of  her  lover's 
presence,  which  struck  a  delirium  to  her  heart ;  but  yet 
upon  one  occasion  she  fled  wildly  from  that  darkness 
and  cried  aloud  for  his  coming.  As  she  spurned  the 
solitude  of  her  chamber  with  dizzy  step  and  fainting 
sight,  she  fell  not  to  the  cold  floor  but  upon  the  bosom 
of  her  gay-hearted  friend,  who  had  usurped  the  glory 
of  liveliness  for  his  daily  manner. 

"  Why,  darling !  "  said  he.  "  "What  a  jump  you 
gave.  I  crept  to  your  door,  and  stood  ere  I  knocked, 
and  you've  paid  me  for  my  eaves-dropping.  How 
silent  you  have  been  !  " 

She  rose  vehemently  from  his  embrace.  "  Yes,  I 
was  tired,"  said  she  after  a  moment,  in  a  dull,  listless 
manner,  yawning. 

"  Eh,  what !  little  girl.     Have  you  been  following 
in  the  fields  the  setting  sun  ?  "  said  he,  "  as  though  you 
would  not  have  him  leave  you  in  darkness." 
18 


410  DINAH. 

"  Do  you  think  I  am  afraid  to  be  left  in  the  shadows  ? 
!N"o.  Even  in  the  deepest  night  is  there  not  always  some 
reflection,  some  dim  remembrance  of  the  glorious  light 
of  day  ?  Oh  yes  !  " 

"  Dinah,  what  is  this  ?  you  are  weeping  ?  My 
child,  oh  keep  not  a  sister's  grief  from  one  who — " 

"  Charles,  Guy's  memory  is  incorporated  with  my 
daily  prayers,  and  they  breathe  a  pleasant  hope.  I 
should  not  weep  his  death  now,  should  I  ?  And  I  am 
not  weeping  for  him  now ;  my  tears  are  the  tears  of 
selfishness.  I  am  but  crying  like  a  philosophic  baby 
to  dissipate  a  general  melancholy,  my  friend,"  contin 
ued  she,  with  her  accustomed  smile. 

"  You  conjure  up  a  foolish  melancholy,  in  order 
that  you  may  enjoy  a  philosophical  dissipation  of  it," 
replied  he,  in  a  lively  manner.  "  Yes,  an  ingenious 
pastime.  You  women  somehow  have  a  great  knack  of 
crying  about  trifles,  and — " 

"  Stop  it !  I  won't  have  you  talk  so.  Why,  Charles, 
how  can  you  say  that — and  stop  it,  sir,  stop  it  imme 
diately,"  replied  she,  sharply.  There  was  a  look  in  her 
eyes  as  if  she  felt  a  knife  rankling  in  her  inmost  heart. 

"  Eh  ?  I  will,  foolish  creature,  but  it  is  a  compli 
ment,  you  know.  To  have  a  soft  heart  is  quite  a  dif 
ferent  affair  from  having  a  soft  head,  and — " 

"  Charles,  I  am  sick  as  death.  I  feel  faint,  and  will 
you  not  go  away  now,  will  you  not,  dear  ?  I  wish  to 
lie  down." 

"  Cannot  I  assist  you.     May  not  I  be — " 

"  Oh  no,  I  must  have  rest  and  quiet,  Charles.  It 
is  sleep  I  want ;  and  go  away,  and  come  again  bv  and 
by." 

"  Well  I  will,  dear ;  but  soon — soon  the  time  will 


DINAH  411 

come  when  I  shall  have  the  right — when  my  love  shall 
be  jour  guard  against  exposure,  your  support  in  ill 
ness — and  oh  tell  me  now,  Dinah,  ere  I  go ;  that  day 
is  not  far  distant,  is  it,  from  this  ?  " 

"  How  is  it  for  me  to  answer  now  ?  How  can  I  say  ? 
Do  not  be  so  fast,  silly  fellow.  There  is  plenty  of  time 
before  us,  and — •" 

"  What !  By  heaven,  you  shall  be  taken  to  a  home 
of  your  own  within  the  week,  away  from  this  cabin  of 
poverty  and  solitude,  though  you  fondly  love  to  linger 
here.  But  forgive  me,  dear,  forgive  me ;  I  have  been 
wrong  in  distracting  you  at  this  moment  of  weariness 
and  fatigue,  and — and  I  am  going.  Good-bye." 

She  moved  herself  suddenly.  "  You  are  so  rash 
and  passionate,  Charles !  "Why  don't  you  try  to  curb 
your  feelings  ?  "  said  she.  "  They  only  make  you  fret 
ful,  and  indeed — I  must  say — sometimes  they  cause  me 
to  feel  an  inclination  to  be — to  be  trivial.  It  is  only 
their  continued  flow  I  fear.  You  see  I'm  afraid  our 
intercourse  will  become  monotonous  if  it  is  uninter 
rupted.  And  now  I  will  tell  you  what  I  wish  to  have 
you  do,  just  for  a  trial.  You  must  not  come  to  see  me 
so  often,  you  know,  and  I  will  now  forbid  you  returning 
hither  for  at  least  three  days.  Just  think  of  it,  sir,  three 
whole  days  !  What  an  unendurable  punishment !  But 
it  must  be  so,  I  positively  command  you.  Ha  !  ha  !  It 
is  my  august  vermilion  edict.  Go — go — say  not  a  word ; 
good-bye,  and  there  is  a  seal  to  it,"  said  she,  kissing  him 
violently. 

"  But  I — I — "  stammered  the  young  man,  stricken 
by  each  of  these  singular  words,  as  if  they  had  been 
blows. 

"  Sir,  have  I  not  commanded  you,  and  have  I  not 


412  DINAH. 

the  right  to  ?  ISfot  a  word,  sir,  and  leave  me  now,"  con 
tinued  she,  violently  and  sharply. 

"  Why,  darling — but — but — has  not — "  said  the 
young  man,  with  a  slight  shudder  ;  "  has  not  my  love  a 
right — oh,  do  you — " 

"  Your  love  !  "  Her  manner,  indeed,  seemed  like 
a  terrible,  serious  scorn.  "  "What  about  your  love  ?  I 
am  tired  of  this  nonsense,  Charles.  We  have  both 
been  like  a  couple  of  fools  for  the  past  three  weeks. 
Let  us  begin  and  act  like  reasonable  creatures,  for  a 
while  at  least.  You  are  sensible  and  so  am  I,  and  let 
us  assert  our  natures.  Come,  I'll  make  a  treaty  with 
you  not  to  utter  that  word  of  love  for  a  week,  if  you 
will." 

An  appalling  sensation  fell  upon  her  listener's  spirit. 
She  stood  looking  steadily  at  him,  and  even  an  easy 
indifference  was  apparent  in  her  looks  and  her  manner. 

"  Great  God,  Dinah  !  What  means  this  horrible 
lightness  of  speech.  This  sudden  change ;  these  un- 
weighed  words  so  abhorrent  to  your  nature  2  Heavens ! 
Does  my  sense  garble  its  work — " 

"  By  the  great  canopy  which  o'erhangs  us  I  scarce 
-can  tell  myself,  ha !  ha !  "  said  she,  with  a  dull  dis 
tracted  laugh.  "  I  believe  I  am  crazy.  But  go  away. 
Leave  me.  It  is  my  foolishness,  cannot  you  see  ?  Why, 
how  scared  you  look !  Come,  this  is  our  parting ! 
Good-bye.  But  remember.  You  are  not  to  come  back 
for  three  days.  I  mean  it.  I  am  serious." 

"  Ha  !  ha  !  yes — well,  good-bye,"  said  the  bewil 
dered  young  man,  lingering  to  look  at  her  in  trembling 
astonishment  as  she  withdrew  into  her  chamber. 


DINAH. 


CHAPTER  LXY. 

WOUNDED   LOYE. 

THEEK  was  a  rude  violence  in  his  manner.  The  hot 
words  of  abuse  and  revilement  fell  from  his  lips.  Amid 
that  passionate  reproach,  he  could  not  feel  that  the  last 
remnant  of  self-respect  was  oozing  away. 

"  Sit  down  here,"  said  he,  roughly.  "  You  shall 
hear  me  !  "  and  he  took  her  violently  by  the  hand  and 
forced  her  down  upon  the  sofa. 

"  It  is  a  strange  opinion  I  have  of  you,"  said  he, 
suppressing  his  anger  in  an  ugly  sneer,  "  and,  perhaps, 
as  you  already  delight  in  intellectual  amusement,  you 
may  take  some  pleasure  in  hearing  your  own  character 
drawn  by  the  victim,  ha !  ha !  the  fool,  who  you 
thought  could  never  read  its  ugly  lineaments.  I  know 
you.  I  know  your  miserable  soul  to  its  most  secret 
springs,  and  you  first  shall  hear  its  description,  though 
it  be  to  you  but  a  monotonous  iteration  of  unholiness  !  " 
Beneath  his  thick  utterance  was  still  a  beseeching  tone, 
and  the  light  of  love  was  flashing  irregularly  in  his 
eyes. 

"  There  can  be  no  joy  for  me  henceforth,  nor  afflic 
tion,  either,  by  God,"  muttered  he,  in  a  suppressed 
way,  "  and  it  is  to  you — to  you — (raising  his  voice) 
miserable,  that  I  owe  this  double  exemption.  How  can 
I  ever  repay  you.  Come,  sit  still,  you  shall  hear  me. 
I  cannot  publish  your  perfidy  to  the  world  ;  for  in  pro 
claiming  you  the  wretch  and  hypocrite,  I  should  but 
proclaim  myself  the  fool  and  dupe.  But  perhaps  it 
might  render  good  to  both  of  us.  I  might  obtain  the 


4:14  DINAH. 

puling  sympathy  of  other  such  love-sick  sentimental 
fools  as  I  am,  and  you  the  praise  of  your  peers  in  hy 
pocrisy  ;  and  perhaps  these  ugly  gifts  would  out-balance 
for  both  of  us  the  scorn  and  ridicule  which  we  would 
each  receive  from  sensible  men  and  women." 

"  Listen  to  me.  When  I  came  from  the  city  to  this 
place  with  sense  enough  left  to  seek  reformation  for  the 
weak,  unhappy  habits  of  my  foolish,  lazy  heart,  I 
thought  to  find  it  in  nature.  It  was  her  breath  I 
thought  would  fan  once  more  the  expiring  flame  of 
manliness  and  common  sense  in  my  bosom ;  so  did  I 
almost  hate  then  my  kind,  I  never  thought  a  human 
being  could  give  to  my  soul  any  other  emotion  than 
that  of  weariness  and  disgust.  The  sickness  of  my  soul 
was  no  imaginary  one.  I  will  tell  you,  Dinah ;  I  was 
grovelling  in  wretchedness  without  knowing  how  I  be 
came  so  low  or  how  to  rise  again.  It  was  then  I  met 
a  creature,  so  fair  in  body  and  soul,  she  seemed  to  come 
from  heaven  as  a  special  dispensation  for  me.  "What 
was  this  new  sensation  that  seized  me?  I  watched 
you.  I  could  not  bear  to  have  you  out  of  my  sight. 
Your  presence  became  the  sweet  chastener  of  my  de 
graded  silliness,  and  the  cloud  of  wilful  neglect  was 
clearing  away  from  my  purpose." 

"  Some  one  told  me  that  you  were  wicked.  That 
that  look  of  gentleness  was  the  cunning  sweetness  of 
hereditary  hypocrisy.  At  first  I  laughed  to  scorn  the 
improper  thought,  and  I — I  do  now  ;  indeed  I  do.  Oh, 
Dinah,  let  us  be  friends  again  !  Try  !  try  !  You  will 
love  me  in  the  end.  "With  you  to  inspire  me,  I  can  be 
a  god."  The  muscles  of  his  frame  seemed  to  raise  per 
ceptibly  in  their  tension,  and  his  eye  glittered  tempo 
rarily  with  the  lofty  thought  of  future  existence  with 


DINAH.  4:15 

her.  His  nostrils  dilated,  and  lie  stood  something  like 
Hercules,  when  counting  his  labors  to  win  heaven. 

The  young  girl  made  no  movement,  but  kept  her 
head  Bowed  while  her  heart  shuddered  anew. 

"  Enough  !  I  have  deceived  myself,  ha  !  ha !  I 
have  been  fancying  that  I  am  a  lovable  creature.  I 
don't  blame  you  for  not  loving  me,  but  what  did  you 
let  your  eyes  lie  to  me  for  ?  You  need  not  hang  your 
head,  Dinah.  There  is  no  need  of  a  show  of  shame. 
Come,  I  have  been  sad  with  you  in  the  midst  of  hope, 
and  now  you  must  be  gay  with  me.  Great  God !  to 
think  how  that  sunlight  of  your  soul  was  my  sunlight 
then,  and  your  clouds  were  my  clouds.  I  thought  I 
should  die  with  joy  to  be  the  slave  of  your  sweetness, 
and  now,  oh  infamy — " 

"  Well,  Dinah,  you  have  told  me  you  cannot  love 
me.  Riches  have  pinions,  eh  ?  I  may  lose  my  wealth. 
You  have  heard  of  that,  and  you  would  await  another 
rich  booby." 

He  had  ere  this  risen,  and  taken  her  hand  as  it  were 
to  chain  her  to  his  passion,  but  now  he  released  it  with 
a  scornful  thrust  from  him,  and  she  sank  upon  the  floor 
at  his  feet.  With  a  mechanical  air,  she  half  upturned 
her  face  to  him,  and  lifted  her  hands  in  deprecation  of 
his  violence. 

"  Oh  darling,  forgive  me,  forgive  me,"  cried  he,  as 
he  recovered  her  from  her  position  and  pressed  her  to 
his  bosom.  Despair  has  its  embrace.  "  What  have  I 
said  ?  Oh  Di — dear,  let  us  be  friends,  let  us — " 

She  seemingly  relented,  and  made  a  motion  as  if  to 
throw  herself  upon  his  neck,  but  it  ended  in  an  erect 
posture,  and  she  said  sharply  and  quickly,  "  No,  it  can 
never  be.  Friends  we  may  be,  but  no  more.  My  soul 


410  DINAH. 

is  my  own.  My  word  is  passed."  She  neither  saw  nor 
heard  any  thing  for  some  time.  When  she  rose  from 
the  sofa  to  which  she  had  sunk  again,  he  was  no  longer 
there.  His  love  had  driven  him  in  wildness  from  the 
horror  of  her  firmness. 

"  He  has  gone,  and  his  happiness  is  saved  to  him, 
dear,  dear  friend.     Oh  thank  God  it  is  past !  " 

"  Now  for  flight.  It  is  better  he  should  have  seen 
me  ere  I  went.  But  quick,  he  will  come  back  and  I 
cannot — cannot — "  She  thrust  her  things  into  the  old 
and  worn  portmanteau  which  she  had  concealed  as  he 
entered  the  room,  and  her  hands  worked  fast  to  help 
her  in  flying  from  her  own  happiness.  All  was  silent 
about  the  house  save  her  own  light  footsteps  as  she 
gathered  her  little  treasures  and  put  them  into  the 
carpet-bag.  Her  father  had  gone  into  the  woods  with 
the  negroes  to  gather  autumnal  fruits,  and  with  neces 
sary  apparel  she  packed  his  trunk,  which  would  be 
conveyed  to  the  depot  by  the  deceived  colored  man. 
Rich  maidens  inherit  jewels  from  generation  to  gener 
ation.  Some  old  stubborn  Puritan  ancestor  of  hers  be 
queathed  to  his  race  no  earthy  stuff,  but  the  energy 
which  urged  him  to  scorn  his  martyring  torture  amid 
the  burning  fagots.  There  was  an  ore  of  heaven  in 
her  blood. 

The  passion  of  her  passionate  heart  still  burned  in 
the  same  steady,  bright,  unchanging  flame,  and  when 
her  heart  was  to  be  torn  in  pieces,  its  last  throb  would 
be  for  the  one  whom  she  loved. 


DINAH.  •  4:17 


CHAPTER    LXYI. 

• 

CHAKLES    DISCOVERS    TDK    FLIGHT    OF    DINAH. 

IT  was  the  close  of  the  beautiful  season  of  the  Indian 
summer,  and  the  melancholy  shades  of  the  imbrowned 
woods  were  fading  rapidly  to  bleakness  with  the  in 
cessant  falling  of  the  many-tribed  leaves.  The  forest 
paths  were  filled  with  the  little  innumerable  mats,  and 
the  wind  whistling  through  the  trees  was  blowing  the 
decadent  foliage  in  thinner  showers  to  the  ground,  as 
the  dejected  Charles  passed  along  the  rustling  way  in 
silent  communion  with  his  bitterness,  towards  the  resi 
dence  of  Dinah.  The  oft-drawn  pictures  of  future  fe 
licity  in  his  union  with  her  were  now  forced  upon  his 
mind  in  bitter  contrast  to  his  hope,  which  still  sprang 
wretchedly  within  his  bosom,  and  the  careful  retrospect 
of  his  intercourse  with  her  displayed  to  him  the  con 
summate  artifice  of  her  hypocrisy,  when  it  did  not  belie 
this  last  falsity  of  her  soul  towards  him.  The  falsity 
and  fickleness  of  woman  he  knew  was  a  proverb,  and 
he  saw  the  shrewdness  of  her  heartlessness  in  releasing 
herself  ere  poverty  was  upon  him.  But  he  still  had 
hope.  Her  soul  was  but  tarnished  with  the  education 
of  poverty,  and  with  the  continued  manifestation  of  his 
love  it  would  brighten  to  its  original  purity.  The  disaster 
of  his  own  ruin  had  not  yet  come,  (he  weakly  thought ;) 
and,  too,  it  was  not  as  if  she  already  loved  another. 

Tully,  the  negro,  showed  some  wonder  at  Charles's 

inquiry.     Did  he  not  know  that  she  had  gone  away  ? 

Charles  sought  her  room  with  rapid  footsteps,  and  its 

deserted  appearance-  went  farther  than  the  negro's  state- 

18* 


4:18  DINAH. 

ment  in  revealing  the  truth  which  led  him  to  despair. 
JSTo  letter,  no  token  of  farewell  to  one  "whom  she  had 
promised  at  least  to  be  a  friend.  She  had  fled  from 
the  neighborhood  of  one  whom  she  had  wronged,  to 
seek  in  some  securer  quarter  a  more  advantageous  ex 
ercise  of  her  artifice  and  her  charms.  Heavens  I  had 
she  gone  to  pursue  "Warriston's  footsteps  and  bring  his 
willing  affections  back  to  her  ?  Had  she  secretly  kept 
up  her  relations  with  him,  and  was  he  now  awaiting 
her  in  some  distant  place  ? 

"  ISTo  I  no  I  Hypocrite,  liar  as  she  is,"  cried  he, 
passionately  lifting  his  head  from  his  distraction,  "  she 
could  not  have  falsely  denied  that.  She  loves  no  one 
yet.  She  must  love  me,  even  if  it  be  the  work  of  my 
life  to  make  her,  and  quick  I  will  discover  her  and 
bring  her  back  I  " 

"No  time  elapsed  ere  he  took  measures  to  discover 
the  direction  of  her  flight,  and  he  soon  was  convinced 
that  she  had  sought  the  great  metropolis.  He  knew, 
too,  from  indubitable  evidence  that  Rudolph  had  taken 
the  European  steamer,  and  reasonably  conjectured  that 
her  temporary  relations  were  not  with  him. 


CHAPTEE   LXYII. 

BE.   FUFFLES   GOES   WITH   CHAELES   TO   THE   CITY.  ' 

IN  obedience  to  the  absorbing  will  of  his  heart, 
Charles  endeavored  to  follow  the  footsteps  of  the  young 
fugitive.  At  times  her  farewell  to  him  and  the  scenes 
of  their  intercourse  seemed  not  heartless  but  delicate. 


DINAH.  419 

At  times  he  felt  not  the  strength,  but  feared  the  weak 
ness  of  her  self-reliance  in  conquering  her  way  through 
the  world. 

The  wild  distraction  which  characterized  his  first 
essay  to  discover  her  was  chastened  by  its  want  of 
success,  and  without  relinquishing  hope,  he  returned 
from  the  city  to  the  country-mansion,  (at  which  his 
mother  had  resolved  to  stay  during  the  winter,)  with 
a  subdued  gloom. 

The  sweet  religious  days  which  comprise  the  anni 
versary  of  our  Lord's  advent  came  and  passed ;  the 
dark  evergreens,  which  adorned  the  way-side  church, 
with  their  united  light  and  shade  were  emblematic  of 
suffering,  and  yet  of  hope.  The  anthems  chanted  in 
the  loft,  accompanied  by  the  trumpets  of  the  village 
band,  filled  his  heart  with  sensuous  glory  and  yet  with 
melancholy. 

Quickly,  with  the  new  year's  coming,  he  returned 
again  to  the  city.  The  measures  which  he  had  first 
taken  were  still  unproductive  in  /their  results,  and  the 
impulse  to  continue  his  personal  efforts  to  discover  her 
was  undying  and  resistless.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
delicacy  of  his  position  towards  Laura,  as  understood 
by  his  parents,  was  a  matter  of  sorrowful  misgiving 
to  them,  although  as  the  hour  of  danger  to  the  business 
of  his  father  had  been  postponed  by  an  extension  of 
paper,  they  did  not  yet  wish  to  ask  the  devotion  of  his 
thoughts  to  those  important  interests. 

To  accompany  Charles  upon  his  renewed  visit  to 
town,  Dr.  Fuffl.es  applied  for  leave  of  absence  from  his 
charge.  A  special  meeting  of  the  vestry  was  held,  at 
which  the  subject  of  the  temporary  loss  of  their  beloved 
pastor  was  debated  with  deep  upheaval  of  emotions  and 


4:20       .  DINAH. 

a  storm  of  words  ;  but  the  doctor  having  finally  alluded 
to  his  intention  of  paying  his  own  expenses,  they  im 
mediately  yielded  to  his  desires,  and  with  great  unan 
imity  resolved  to  let  him  go. 

The  doctor  was  desirous  of  accompanying  Charles 
to  the  great  metropolis,  not  only  that  he  might  offer  the 
young  man  that  sympathy  which  was  due  him  in  his 
bitter  pursuit  of  Dinah,  but  also  that  he  might  more 
conveniently  invite  publishers  to  treat  with  him  for  the 
publication  of  his  great  work  now  in  manuscript,  "  The 
Poetical  Exegesis  of  the  Revelations."  In  the  construc 
tion  of  this  work,  the  doctor  had  been  too  partial,  per 
haps,  to  the  established  rhetorical  rule  of  flattering  the 
reader  by  leaving  him  something  in  each  one  of  them 
to  puzzle  over  and  discover  for  himself ;  and,  in  fact, 
the  work  might  be  said  to  have  been  generally  more 
unintelligible  than  the  great  mystery  which  it  was  in 
tended  to  explain.  However,  it  possessed  at  least  one 
indubitable  evidence  of  inspiration,  which  was  mani 
fested  in  a  consciousness  of  its  immortality  by  the 
author,  who  boasted  of  it  in  eleven  different  places 
after  the  manner  of  the  old  poets. 

The  clergyman  of  the  city,  with  whom  the  doctor 
exchanged  upon  this  occasion,  was  equally  celebrated 
with  him,  and  to  a  certain  degree,  of  a  similar  style  of 
mind — the  only  difference,  perhaps,  being  that  while  the 
former  was  accustomed  to  preach  on  those  mysterious 
and  metaphysical  subjects  which  were  generally  be 
yond  the  comprehension  of  his  parishioners,  the  doctor 
entirely  carried  off  the  palm  by  holding  forth  upon 
matters  which  not  only  his  flock  didn't  understand,  but 
he  didn't  himself.  This  friend  of  the  doctor  had  for 
merly  been  a  Presbyterian,  but  having  engaged  in  a 


DINAH. 

public  controversy  on  the  merits  of  their  respective 
religions  with  an  Episcopalian  bishop,  a  curious  result 
took  place  :  the  Presbyterian  became  an  Episcopalian, 
and  the  Episcopalian  became  a  Presbyterian. 

As  the  doctor  was  an  infrequent  traveller,  it  is  nat 
ural  to  suppose  that  the  excitement  of  the  journey 
should  have  been  characterized  at  the  outset  by  a  little 
timidity.  However,  nothing  occurred  to  mar  its  pleas 
antness,  excepting  perhaps  a  momentary  cumulation  of 
feeling  upon  one  occasion,  when  the  doctor  emerging 
at  a  station  for  the  procuration  of  refreshments  was  in 
formed,  while  returning,  by  a  seedy  gentleman,  who 
was  evidently  the  life  of  the  large  party  of  natives, 
devoting  their  daily  energies  to  hanging  about  the 
landing-place,  that  he  would  have  his  body  carefully 
returned  to  his  place  of  residence,  if  it  could  be  recog 
nized,  and  if  he  would  only  be  kind  enough  to  leave 
his  address.  The  doctor,  horror-stricken  at  the  insinu 
ation  of  the  benevolent  stranger,  rushed  distractedly  to 
Charles's  side  ;  but  his  fears  were  soon  dissipated  by  a 
gentleman  occupying  the  seat  in  front,  who  informed 
him  in  a  pompous  manner  that  there  would  be  no 
danger,  and  deduced  this  conclusion  simply  from  the 
fact  that  he  was  aboard.  He  was  the  mayor  of  the 
town  at  which  they  stopped.  His  visit  to  the  metrop 
olis  was  private  and  incognito,  but  as  he  looked  around 
severely  upon  the  other  occupants  of  the  car,  he  in 
dulged  in  gratifying  pictures  of  the  reception  which 
the  citizens  would  give  him  were  it  official.  As  how 
the  right  of  the  city  would  be  given  up  for  the  forma 
tion  of  the  firemen  and  civic  societies,. and  the  left  be 
devoted  to  the  military,  while  the  drunken  "  citizens 


422  DINAH. 

on  horseback  "  would  be  enticed  towards  Harlem  under 
the  impression  that  he  would  be  coming  in  that  way. 

The  hours  lagged  in  weariness  to  the  restless  young 
man,  urged  by  the  powerful  impulses  of  his  passion, 
and  with  nervous  joy  he  saw  the  lights  of  the  city  in 
the  distance  ahead.  He  soon  drove  up  with  his  fa 
tigued  friend  to  the  mansion  of  his  father  in  Jefferson 
Square,  one  of  those  architectural  ornaments  to  the 
city,  which  are  said  (especially  by  persons  who  have 
never  been  out  of  America)  to  resemble  in  a  striking 
manner,  some  of  the  gorgeous  palaces  of  the  resplen 
dent  clime  of  Italy,  and  which,  perhaps,  do  in  every 
thing  except  the  dirt,  Charles  awaited  not  the  coming 
of  the  day,  but  leaving  his  respected  friend  beneath  his 
roof  to  retire  to  the  black-curtained  feathery  pavilion 
of  Sonmus,  commenced  his  search  for  Dinah  with  min 
gled  hope  and  misgiving.  The  approaching  rigor  of 
the  weather,  the  financial  stringency,  the  youth  of  the 
young  girl,  the  helplessness  of  her  aged  father,  her  ig 
norance  of  the  ways  of  such  an  assemblage  of  human 
beings,  all  conspired  to  lend  a  desolate,  gray  tinge  to 
his  emotions,  but  they  only  made  his  energy  greater. 
When  the  morning  came,  the  warning  which  he  had 
given  that  he  might  not  return,  proved  true.  He  was 
taking  the  proper  measures  to  discover  her,  and  all  of 
them  in  his  power. 

Dr.  Fumes  sallied  forth  in  the  morning,  filled  with 
architectural  admiration  at  the  splendid  city,  and  re 
solving  to  occupy  the  hours  of  his  temporary  stay,  un- 
devoted  to  business  or  sociality,  in  the  impartial  criti 
cism  of  an  unassisted  examination  thereof.  A  plan, 
accommodated  to  the  brevity  of  his  sojourn,  in  which 
he  proposed  to  examine  all  the  streets  of  the  city,  to 


DINAH.  423 

look  down  into  all  the  cellars,  inspect  the  tops  of  all 
the  houses,  call  into  every  corner  grocery,  and  ride  in 
all  the  omnibuses,  was  soon  put  into  execution.  Some 
few  hours  at  the  commencement  were  devoted  to  lam 
entation  for  the  loss  of  the  "  Exegesis,"  the  manuscript 
of  which  had  mysteriously  disappeared  from  his  pocket 
within  five  minutes  after  he  left  the  mansion  on  the 
first  day.  As  it  was  but  a  copy  of  the  original  at  home, 
however,  he  soon  recovered  his  spirits,  and  it  is  satis 
factory  to  know  that  his  surprise  and  chagrin  were 
quite  offset  by  the  thief's  upon  discovering  the  nature 
of  his  booty. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  relate  here  the  various  inci 
dents  which  occurred  in  the  doctor's  ramifications,  but 
a  few  may,  perhaps,  be  alluded  to  from  their  singu 
larity.  For  instance,  upon  one  occasion  while  crossing 
one  of  the  streets,  and  closing  his  umbrella  which  he 
had  hoisted  instinctively  in  proceeding  under  a  build 
ing  in  process  of  erection  near  by,  he  became  involved 
in  a  roaring,  tearing  assemblage  of  people  turning  the 
corner  with  an  engine  behind  them.  By  some  process 
or  other  he  got  inside  of  the  ropes,  and  was  compelled 
to  run  for  his  life  for  over  a  half  mile,  surrounded  by 
the  cordon  of  frantic,  whooping  demons  on  their  way 
to  the  conflagration.  At  the  end  of  that  distance,  the 
announcement  being  made  that  there  was  no  fire,  he 
was  released,  not  without  a  difficulty  however  with  one 
of  the  firemen,  who  was  mildewing  for  a  personal  con 
test,  and  who  rubbed  up  against  him  for  some  time 
with  the  hope  of  producing  exasperation,  while  making 
use  of  such  expressions  as  these — "  Where  yer  shovin' 
to,  sa-ay  ?  I'll  just  tuck  and  I'll—"  etc. 

Although  he  soon  recovered  his  hat,  and  his  temper 


DINAH. 

which  he  had  temporarily  lost  in  endeavoring  to  find 
the  former,  he  presented  a  very  disordered  appearance, 
which  no  doubt  was  the  cause  of  the  reply  made  by  a 
passing  gentleman  in  answer  to  his  inquiring  desire  to 
go  to  Broadway:  "Well,  I  am  sure  I  have  no  objec 
tion,"  said  the  hurrying  merchant.  "  You  have  my 
permission,  if  that  is  what  you  want." 

"  He  must  be  a  Bostonian,"  reflected  the  doctor, 
philosophically.  Another  individual  told  him  "  to  go 
away,  that  he  had  nothing  for  him ; "  but  he  at  last  suc 
ceeded  in  finding  the  great  picture  gallery,  and  was  car 
ried  along  amidst  the  throng  of  beauty  and  elegance 
towards  Union  Square.  When  he  arrived  there  the 
lamps  were  being  lighted,  and  after  a  short  admiration 
of  the  tall  bronze  horse  on  the  paved  square,  he  pro 
ceeded  towards  dinner  and  Charles's  mansion. 

Still  filled  with  the  ardor  of  investigation,  he  stopped 
upon  one  of  the  cross  streets  down  which  he  was  walk 
ing,  overcome  with  the  thought  that  he  might  lose  some 
thing  worth  seeing  were  he  not  to  look  into  an  area  gate 
of  one  of  the  houses  which  happened  to  be  open.  At 
this  point,  he  observed  a  mysterious  individual  stand 
ing  near  a  tree  box,  who  had  commenced  winking  at 
him,  and  now  slowly  approached  him. 

"  One  go  in  for  the  daddies,  the  other  watch  and 
flab  the  nabbers,"  said  this  person  quickly,  in  a  whis 
per. 

"  Dear  me  !  nab  the  flabbers  !  "  exclaimed  the  doc 
tor,  in  astonishment. 

"  Meet  at  36th  street  and  12th  avenue,  and  divide." 

"  Eh  ?  my  friend,  I  don't  understand  you,"  said  the 
doctor. 


DINAH.  425 

» 

"  Oh  you  needn't  come  that  on  me.  It's  my  lay 
any  how.  I  was  here  before  you." 

The  doctor  looked  about  him.  He  knew  not  but 
that  the  eccentric  stranger  was  seeking  for  some  printed 
ballad  which  he  had  dropped,  or  was  awaiting  the  de 
position  by  some  favorite  hen  of  her  treasure,  and  was 
fearful  of  its  being  rudely  snatched  from  him,  but  he 
saw  evidences  of  neither. 

"  Lay !  what  do  you  mean  by  that  ? "  asked  the 
doctor,  sharply. 

"  There's  a  coat,  a  poll-parrot,  two  umbrellas,  and 
the  half  of  a  boiled  ham  in  there.  You  take  the  poll- 
parrot  and  umbrellas,  and  give  me  the  coat  and  ham. 
I  must  have  the  ham,"  said  the  man,  shivering,  "  for  I 
am  hungry.  Be  quick  about  it,  they  are  all  at  dinner. 
I'll  whistle  if  the  nabbers  turns  the  corner." 

"  This  is  most  extraordinary ! "  ejaculated  the 
doctor. 

"  Go  in  !  Go  in  quick,"  urged  the  ragamuffin, 
swearing  violently,  "  if  you're  going  to  do  it." 

"  D — n  it,  I  will,  d — n  it !  "  exclaimed  the  doctor, 
mechanically,  confused  to  imitation  with  the  frequent 
"  d — n  its  "  of  the  stranger,  and  walking  bewilderedly 
into  the  yard. 

A  stately  policeman  had  turned  the  corner,  with  a 
relaxed  drunken  man  hanging  over  his  arm,  whom  he 
\vas  taking  to  the  station-house.  The  doctor  emanated 
from  the  gate,  and  observed  the  eccentric  stranger  tear 
ing  rapidly  down  the  street.  A  fearful  thought  came 
over  him  with  regard  to  his  hat  and  clothes,  still 
crushed  and  soiled. 

"  Ha !  "  said  the  policeman,  who  had  hanged  the 
drunken  man  quickly  over  the  railing  of  the  house, 


DINAH. 

"  I've  got  you,  have  I  ? "  "With  one  pounce  he  grasped 
the  doctor.  It  was  a  more  exciting  affair  than  that  of 
the  inebriated  specimen  of  dereliction  whom  he  left 
hanging  upon  the  railing.  Twisting  his  hand  into  the 
neckcloth  of  the  doctor  he  slammed  him  against  a-  tree 
box,  and  then  against  the  fences  of  the  little  courtyards 
as  he  dragged  him  along.  The  doctor's  legs  were  in 
the  air  the  greater  part  of  the  time.  That  evening  he 
spent  looking  through  a  grating  at  a  lamp  hanging  in 
a  dim  corridor,  or  in  keeping  off,  with  his  umbrella,  a 
demoniac  Irishwoman  in  the  cell  with  him  ;  and 
next  meriting,  although  he  was  discharged  by  the 
magistrate  in  the  matter  of  theft,  upon  the  explanation 
of  Charles,  he  was  fined  five  dollars  for  fighting  the 
policeman,  and  general  disorderly  conduct  on  the  way 
to  the  station-house 

"  Well,  this,  I  suppose,  is  city  life,  isn't  it  ?  "  said 
he  to  Charles,  after  a  long  silence,  as  they  rode  home. 

Upon  another  occasion  it  fell  to  the  doctor's  lot 
to  witness  one  of  those  pugilistic  contests,  common  to 
the  overflowing  energies  of  great  cities,  which  was  of 
unusual  interest.  In  spite  of  the  foregoing  mishaps 
which  had  occurred  to  him,  he  bravely  ventured  out 
again  to  complete  his  inquisitorial  tour  of  the  metrop 
olis.  Having  arrived  in  his  wanderings  opposite  an 
open  lot  in  some  sparsely  settled  suburbs,  he  was  over 
come  with  astonishment  to  observe  therein,  what  seemed 
to  his  subjectively  confused  vision,  nothing  but  a  mass 
of  legs  and  arms  twisted  up  in  intertwined  motions. 

It  was  a  prize-fight  which  had  become  general,  and 
contained  among  other  singularities  a  wooden-legged 
being,  Avhose  crutch  might  be  seen  rising  into  the  air 
and  falling  with  the  regularity  of  machinery  upon  the 


DINAH. 


devoted  heads  of  those  about  him.  At  some  distance, 
also,  upon  the  outside,  was  an  individual  who,  hesi 
tating  to  go  in,  with  that  bashful  fear  of  excess  of  pleas 
ure  so  common  to  some  modest  natures,  but  infected 
by  the  general  enthusiasm,  and  gifted  with  a  brilliant 
imagination,  was  defending  himself  against  an  imag 
inary  enemy  which  he  saw  before  him  in  the  air.  Sud 
denly  observing,  however,  the  attenuated  form  and 
emotional  absorption  of  the  doctor,  who  stood  speechless 
upon  the  other  side  of  the  street,  he  immediately  di 
rected  his  footsteps  in  a  sly  and  circuitous  manner  to 
the  rear  of  the  unconscious  clergyman.  Having  arrived 
there,  he  proceeded  to  kick  him  with  such  awakening 
force,  as  to  cause  him  not  only  to  reflect  upon  the  pres 
ent  with  increased  astonishment,  but  to  anticipate  the 
future  with  fear.  If  it  was  done  facetiously,  the  doctor 
was  only  another  instance  of  the  philosophic  rule,  that 
men  of  profound  reason  and  clear  judgment  are  rarely 
remarkable  for  quickness  in  the  appreciation  of  humor. 
"  I  am  somewhat  emaciated,  but  I  must  protect 
myself,"  said  the  doctor,  desirous  of  immediate  repara 
tion,  though  dimly  conscious  of  the  distance  between 
his  wishes  and  powers.  He  turned  around,  but  was 
astonished  to  observe  that  his  aggressor  was  running 
down  the  street  with  rapid  steps  ;  and  not  only 
he,  but  a  greater  part  of  the  crowd,  the  ringleaders 
even  slinking  away,  with  hasty  looks  at  the  recent 
scene  of  their  combat.  They  had  been  dispersed  by 
the  unexpected  appearance  among  them  of  a  benevo 
lent  individual,  soliciting  contributions  for  the  erection 
of  a  church,  and  it  was  not  until  they  were  out  of  his 
reach  that  they  assembled  again,  and  promised  to  have 
another  good  time  in  some  spot  less  liable  to  such  har 
rowing  interruptions. 


428  DINAH. 

With  such  episodes  as  these,  was  the  doctor's  per 
sonal  examination  of  the  great  city  made,  and  the  rest 
of  his  hours  were  devoted  to  the  pleasant  duties  and 
sociality  of  his  clerical  exchange.  As  Charles  was 
almost  continually  absent  in  his  ceaseless  search,  the 
doctor  was  frequently  forced  to  dine  alone,  often  being 
reduced  even  to  the  society  of  the  turkey  upon  the 
board.  Upon  these  occasions,  he  managed,  however, 
to  be  very  much  enlivened  by  the  presence  of  the  latter, 
and  they  generally  had  a  fine  time  together. 

Charles  searched  in  vain  for  his  beloved,  but  with 
sleepless  energy.  The  doctor  in  all  his  little  journeys 
kept  the  thought  of  her  discovery  in  his  mind.  He 
knew  and  appreciated  the  eternalness  of  love. 

Upon  one  occasion,  wayfarers  passing  by  "  the  Prin 
cipal  Depot  for  Mrs.  Piper's  Celebrated  Domestic  Pies," 
were  astonished  to  observe  an  elderly  gentleman,  with 
out  any  hat,  and  with  a  considerable  piece  of  pie  in  his 
hand,  emanate  violently  therefrom,  and  drive  recklessly 
across  the  street.  It  was  supposed  by  many  that  he 
had  become  temporarily  frenzied  with  intoxicating  ma 
terials  contained  in  his  luncheon,  and  the  proprietor  of 
a  Teutonic  establishment  opposite,  whose  rivalry  to 
Mrs.  Piper's  emporium  was  vindicated  by  its  prom 
inent  sign  of  "  Restauration  with  Pie,"  was  wildly  ex 
ulting  in  a  malignant  hope  founded  upon  a  sinister 
theory,  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  elderly  gentle 
man  was  only  pursuing  the  retreating  form  of  a  young 
girl  with  whom  he  thought  he  was  acquainted. 

It  was  a  beautiful  day,  though  severely  cold,  when 
they  left  for  home  again.  The  young  man  had  discov 
ered,  indeed,  that  Dinah  had  been  in  the  city,  and  em 
ployed  as  a  seamstress  in  one  of  the  cheap  clothing 


DINAH.  429 

houses.  "With  the  want  of  demand  she  had  been  dis 
missed  from  employ,  and  although  the  proprietor  had 
known  naught  respecting  her  residence,  nor  whither 
she  had  gone,  he  recalled  to  memory  a  remark  which 
she  had  made,  referring  to  a  conditional  return  to  the 
country.  These  facts  cheered  him,  at  least,  with  the 
total  dissipation  of  his  fears  respecting  her  relations 
with  Warriston,  but  with  a  thousand  distracting  con 
jectures  and  increased  uneasiness,  he  again  temporarily 
sought  his  home. 


CHAPTER    LXYIII. 


"WINTEE. 


WHEN  Dinah  concluded  to  withdraw  the  influence 
of  her  presence  from  her  lover  and  become  but  an 
object  of  memory  to  his  being,  she  knew  that  she  had 
to  furnish  new  thoughts  to  his  mind  ere  she  went,  which 
would  by  their  very  violence  and  horror  heal  the  wound 
which  she  was  making  in  his  spirit.  The  days  of  this 
trial  to  herself  were  few,  and  as  soon  as  she  had  exhib 
ited  to  him  the  feigned  -release  of  her  feelings  from  a 
temporary  attachment  to  him,  she  prepared  to  fly.  On 
the  very  occasion  when  she  was  thus  actively  engaged, 
he  had  returned  in  his  distraction  to  heap  upon  her  a 
scorn,  which  she  felt  at  the  time  was  not  so  harrowing 
as  the  mingled  exhibition  of  his  sorrow.  Her  soul  was 
chiefly  called  upon  to  suffer  in  witnessing  the  latter,  but 
her  principle  was  firm  against  her  self-reproach. 

"With  what  seemed  a  necessary  falsehood  to  the  kind 


430  DINAH. 

colored  people,  a  part  of  which  was  to  make  them  "be 
lieve  in  the  coming  brevity  of  her  absence,  she  suc 
ceeded  in  quietly  leaving  the  neighborhood ;  and  in 
accordance  with  the  previous  determination  of  her 
judgment,  which  suggested  the  solitude  of  a  great  city, 
and  the  facility  therein  of  procuring  steady  employ 
ment,  sought  immediately  to  hide  herself  in  New  York. 
Fortune  favored  her  eiforts.  Within  a  day  after  she 
arrived,  she  had  procured  through  the  agency  of  a 
small  intelligence  office  a  situation  as  seamstress  in  an 
obscure  yet  populous  street,  with  a  privilege  of  per 
forming  her  functions  at  her  own  lodgings,  which  was 
conditional  upon  her  advancing  from  her  humble  means 
the  value  of  the  material  upon  which  she  was  engaged. 
The  Hebrew,  thus  fortified,  accepted  some  natural  ex 
cuse  which  she  made  respecting  this  matter,  and  thus 
she  felt  quite  isolated  from  human  relations.  The  hum 
ble  room  which  she  rented  was  situated  at  some  distance 
from  this  quarter,  and  she  was  accustomed  to  make  the 
necessary  visit  to  her  employer's  establishment  at  an 
evening  hour.  Though  who  shall  blame  that  heart  if, 
at  times,  it  dared  recklessly  to  forget  the  measures  of 
this  cruel  care  ? 

The  old  father  was  quite  happy  when  the  worthy 
desire  of  remunerative  work  did  not  stir  up  uneasy 
emotions  in  his  aged  breast.  He  wished  to  perform 
his  share,  and  felt  that  the  world  was  losing  a  consid 
erable  amount  of  advantage  which  it  might  derive  from 
the"  activity  of  his  energies.  On  these  occasions,  Dinah 
used  to  despatch  him  upon  imaginary  errands,  in  which 
great  haste  and  precipitation  was  demanded ;  such  as 
immediate  inquiries  of  a  distant  grocer  respecting  the 
price  of  potatoes,  or  visits  to  Laurens  Square,  to  take 


DINAH.  431 

the  time  from  St.  Catherine's  steeple,  all  the  neighbor 
ing  clocks  being  out  of  repair  and  quite  unreliable,  or 
to  recover  Tip  from  the  infatuating  society  of  other 
dogs  in  the  streets.  Once,  in  order  to  please  him,  she 
permitted  him  to  go  in  her  place  to  her  employer's 
store  with  a  newly  finished  shirt,  and  receive  the 
week's  wages.  He  returned  with  a  cross-cut  saw,  two 
chisels,  a  hammer,  and  110  money,  having  expended  the 
whole  of  the  week's  stipend  to  a  penny,  in  this  carpen 
ter's  outfit. 

"  Why,  father,  what  have  you  done  ?  "  said  Dinah, 
as  the  truth  struck  upon  her. 

"  I — didn't  mean  to  do  wrong,  Diney ;  I  can  earn 
some-  money  now  !  "  said  the  old  man,  noticing  the  look 
of  disappointment  and  anxiety  on  his  daughter's  face. 
He  thought  she  might  be  vexed,  and  bursting  into 
tears,  fell  upon  her  neck  like  a  little  child. 

"Never  mind,  father  dear,  it  is  right,"  said  she, 
soothing  him  with  a  filial  kiss,  while  her  own  tears 
dropped.  "  "We  can  get  along  without  this  money.  I 
intended  it  for  foolishness,  indeed,  and  you  have  got 
something  of  use  and  value  with  it.  Perhaps,  in  a  few 
days,  too,  when  it  is  better  weather  and  there  is  more 
business,  you  can  get  some  work  to  employ  them  on." 

Time  rolled  by,  and  the  country  was  in  the  depth 
of  winter ;  Dinah  worked  steadily  and  cheerfully  in 
her  little  garret-room,  the  small  grate  of  which  threw 
out  a  comfortable  warmth,  yet  spared  her  little  stock 
of  coals.  Sometimes  her  father  amused  himself  with 
the  unfortunate  tools  he  had  purchased,  and  walked 
about  the  room  pounding  the  doors,  unscrewing  the 
hinges,  fiercely  examining  the  windows,  which  were  a 
sight  to  fire  the  glazing  eye,  or  piling  the  musty 


432  DINAH. 

drawers  of  the  old  closet  in  the  middle  of  the  room  to 
inspect  their  deficiencies.  When  he  became  wearied 
with  this  occupation,  he  would  sit  down  by  his  daugh 
ter  at  the  window  and  read  his  Bible,  .or  engage  in  a 
fond  conversation  with  her,  who  generally  managed  to 
make  him  laugh  heartily  and  forget  the  harrowing  sub 
ject  of  want  of  work,  in  the  pleasant  way  in  which  she 
caused  him  to  look  at  every  thing.  !N"ow  and  then 
he  expressed  a  desire  to  go  back  to  Templeville,  but 
then  he  said  he  was  glad  they  came  away  after  all,  and 
he  would  only  like  to  go  there  again  after  they  had  im 
proved  their  estate  a  little.  He  knew  that  they  had 
been  unpopular  there,  and  seemed  to  understand  that 
there  was  something  improper  in  the  position  which 
his  child  would  have  had  to  hold  had  they  remained, 
and  he  approved  of  her  choice  in  leaving,  although  he 
could  not  make  out  the  chief  reasons  of  her  sending 
away  her  friend  Charles.  Still,  whatever  she  did  was 
right  to  him,  and  he  patted  her  head  or  pressed  her 
to  his  bent  form  with  an  expression  of  love  and  con 
fidence. 

As  she  sat  thus  in  her  working  hours  plying  her 
needle,  what  thoughts,  and  how  many,  in  the  silent 
moments  passed  through  the  mind  of  that  pure-hearted 
child.  Again  and  again  did  the  scenes  which  she  had 
passed  in  the  society  of  Charles  come  back  upon  her 
memory.  Perhaps  in  relief  of  the  thought  that  he 
was  suffering  from  the  abscission  of  those  ties  which  she 
had  so  abruptly  sundered,  she  thought  of  the  brief 
space  in  which  their  sympathy  had  grown  into  an  af 
fection,  and  with  a  sinking  hope  reflected  that  perhaps 
reason  after  a  while  would  restore  equanimity  and  hap 
piness  to  him,  when  he  thought  of  the  profitlessness, 


DINAH.  4.33 

folly,  and  temporary  hallucination  of  having  bestowed 
his  love  upon  one  who  had  thus  assured  him  it  could 
never  be  returned. 

"  Oh  heavens,  have  I  done  wrong  !  "  thought  she, 
in  terror  at  herself  almost,  as  the  consciousness  of  the 
eternity  of  her  own  love  towards  him  now  made  her 
feel  that  her  reasoning  might  perhaps  be  fallacious. 
"  It  was  for  his  good,  and  yet  his  desire  to  have  me 
with  him  may  never  die,  his  love  may  always  be  as 
strong  as  it  is  now.  If  it  is  so,"  she  would  say,  rising 
in  triumph  from  her  chair,  "  I  will  fly  to  him.  Who 
has  a  right  to  keep  us  asunder.  Yes,  it  is  so,"  she 
would  continue,  singing  her  words,  and  grasping  the 
clothes  of  her  astonished  old  father.  "  How  can  I  love 
him  in  the  way  I  do,  unless  he  loves  me  in  the  same 
way  ?  He  can't  live  without  me.  He'll  suffer  and 
be  miserable.  Yes !  I  have  done  him  the  wrong  to 
think  his  love  was  not  as  strong  as  mine !  It  is 
not  too  late !  I  can  go  back  to  him  this  very  day — 
now,  on  the  hour — and  we  shall  be — happy — happy, 
and  together  forever.  My  love  became  morbid,  and 
I  was  a  fool.  When  I  am  older  I  shall  see  what  a  fool 
I  have  been,  and  how  criminal  has  been  my  folly ! 
When  it  is  too  late  and  he  has  become  soured  and  dis 
gusted  with  the  world,  and  perhaps  has — died,  oh 
heaven !  "  The  gushing  thoughts  thus  pouring  quickly 
through  her  mind  would  momentarily  overwhelm  her 
young  soul.  "  Pshaw  !  He  die  for  me  !  "  she  would 
continue,  after  wiping  away  her  tears.  "  He  has  not 
known  me  six  months.  It  is  only  a  temporary  affec 
tion  he  has  for  me.  Yes,  his  dear  mother  indeed  was 
right.  He  has  met  a  young  girl  in  his  idleness,  and 
become  attached  to  her  for  the  moment.  And  Laura, 
19 


434  DINAH. 

darling,  will  love  him,  and  she  will  feel  that  it  has  not 
been  a  matter  of  cold  necessity — she  will  feel  that  the 
strength  of  family  friendship  has  but  commanded  this 
duty,  to  give  to  her  a  life  of  pure  happiness  in  his  pure 
love." 

Thus  over  and  over  again  she  revolved  the  step 
which  she  had  already  taken,  and  warred  against  the 
strivings  of  her  love  to  make  her  undo  it.  Sometimes 
she  jsvas  strong  and  sometimes  she  was  weak,  but  the 
plain  common  sense  which  appeared  always  to  charac 
terize  her  nature  and  chasten  her  sentimentality,  dulled 
the  force  of  the  only  reason  for  returning  to  his  love 
which  she  could  bring  against  herself — the  conjecture 
of  his  suffering  permanently  for  the  want  of  her  love. 

At  best  it  was  a  late  and  temporary  affection  en 
grafted  on  his  being.  How  absurd  to  suppose  that  it 
could  not  be  lopped  off  without  danger  or  damage  to 
that  being,  and  how  foolish  and  criminal  not  to  cut  it 
away  when  the  older  branches  of  his  affection,  of  long 
standing,  the  growth  of  years,  and  even  inherent  and 
necessary  to  his  very  happiness,  wrere  to  be  sacrificed 
for  it. 

The  stringency  which  had  been  for  some  time  ex 
isting  in  the  money  market,  had  time  and  again  warned 
the  merchant  of  the  coming  disaster,  which  now  came 
in  the  midst  of  winter.  One  day,  the  proprietor  of  the 
shop  for  whom  she  worked  told  her  that  he  liked  her 
workmanship,  her  steady  habits,  and  industrious  man 
ner,  but  the  times  obliged  him  to  discharge  her  as  well 
as  others.  The  announcement  caused  a  serious  pang 
in  her  bosom,  but  hope  was  strong  there.  She  could 
seek  employment,  as  she  had  already  saved  sufficient 
money  from  her  wages  to  enable  her  with  proper  econ- 


DIN  All.  435 

omy  to  devote  nearly  a  month  to  that  object,  and  cer 
tainly  by  that  time,  in  the  recuperative  energy  which 
Americans,. even  when  children,  feel  to  belong  to  their 
race,  she  trusted  that  the  scarcity  of  places  would  be 
diminished,  and  the  equilibrium  of  affairs  reestablished. 
The  contemplation  of  seeking  the  aid  of  Laura  and  her 
father  was  yet  unadmitted,  for  she  felt  that  it  would 
be  fatal  to  her  duty  of  weaning  the  affections  of  Charles, 
should  he  obtain  the  clue  to  her  situation  or  location, 
which  it  would  certainly  give  to  him.  No,  the  time 
had  not  yet  come  when  she  could  safely  accost  her 
friends  in  Templeville.  And  even  when  taking  into 
consideration  her  father's  welfare,  she  saw  no  reason 
why  she  could  not  postpone  such  beggary  for  some 
time. 

As  the  medium  of  the  intelligence  office  had  become 
almost  useless  at  this  time,  she  commenced  her  new 
career  of  personally  soliciting  employment  in  the  va 
rious  walks  of  life,  wherein  she  thought  she  might  fulfil 
her  duty.  Carefully  concealing  from  her  father  the  dis 
solution  of  her  connection  with  the  shirt  establishment, 
she  expended  a  part  of  her  little  store  in  purchasing 
linen,  and  occupied  a  part  of  each  day  with  the  usual 
industrious  application  of  her  needle.  "When  the  hour 
came  at  which  he  was  accustomed  to  lie  down  and  re 
fresh  his  aged  limbs  with  slumber,  she  would  darken 
the  window  with  an  old  shawl,  and  covering  him  in 
comfort  would  leave  him  on  tip-toe  with  a  kiss  on  his 
sleeping  lips,  praying  the  benevolent  care,  during  her 
absence,  of  a  wealthy  Irish  lady  on  the  floor  below, 
whose  daughter  was  the  heiress  expectant  of  as  high 
as  seventeen  pigs  and  their  posterity,  then  on  board  in 
the  country.  Upon  these  occasions  she  generally  en- 


436  DINAH. 

countered  Tip  sauntering  about  in  a  pleasant  manner 
two  or  three  blocks  distant  from  his  house,  whom  she 
was  accustomed  to  send  back  with  a  severe  ^reprimand, 
to  lie  at  the  attic  door.  With  dashed  hopes  the  cha 
grined  animal  would  turn  towards  his  residence,  his 
speed  insensibly  lessening  as  the  sway  of  his  inclina 
tion  to  skulk  after  her  increased.  As  it  was  a  matter 
of  uncertainty,  when  he  did  go  home,  whether  he  stayed 
up  stairs  over  ten  minutes  or  not,  owing  to  fitful  im 
pressions  in  his  mind  of  dogs  passing  in  the  street,  she 
at  last  permitted  him  to  follow  her  ;  and  as  he  had  an 
innate  sense  of  delicacy  with  regard  to  entering  strange 
doors,  not  knowing  but  that  his  exit  therefrom  in  some 
cases  might  be  rendered  uncomfortably  precipitous 
owing  to  popular  prejudices,  his  presence  did  not  at 
all  interfere  with  her  designs. 

But  now  time  wore  away  in  unsuccess.  She  saw 
her  store  gradually  decreasing,  as  the  intensity  of  the 
weather  and  the  pressure  of  the  times  increased.  The 
month  of  February  had  nearly  elapsed.  She  had  been 
forced  to  tell  her  father  of  her  want  of  work,  and  had 
expended  the  whole  of  each  of  her  days  in  its  eager 
pursuit.  At  many  a  night-fall  did  she  return  from  her 
bitter  struggle  with  limbs  aching,  and  oppressed  with 
fear  that  her  father  might  yet  be  brought  to  suffering 
from  the  step  she  had  taken.  On  the  afternoon  of  one 
of  those  cold  days,  as  she  was  turned  away  by  a  man 
ifestation  of  churlishness  from  a  store  door,  she  drew 
her  shawl  closely  around  her,  and  walked  along  indulg 
ing  in  a  species  of  melancholy  entertainment,  in  speculat 
ing  upon  which  of  her  toes  was  the  coldest,  and  being  at 
the  time  quite  a  disciple  of  Zoroaster.  Even  Tip  now 
felt  the  severity  of  the  crisis.  No  bones  were  longer  to 


DINAH.  437 

be  picked  up  at  ease  in  the  streets,  and  no  idle  dogs  to 
play  with  were  to  be  seen  about.  His  appearance  be 
gan  to  assume  a  lankness,  and  the  expression  of  his 
countenance,  when  it  was  not  frozen  up  or  blinded  with 
driving  snow,  was  that  of  unmitigated  disgust.  He 
stuck  to  her  bravely,  however,  and  followed  her  wher 
ever  she  went. 

Dinah  felt  her  chance  for  employment  diminishing 
with  her  money.  Starvation  for  her  father,  her  dog, 
and  herself,  or  the  violation  of  her  duty  towards 
Charles,  stood  before  her.  She  blamed  her  folly  for 
not  writing  to  Laura,  while  such  a  step  still  seemed 
forbidden  to  her.  She  had  felt  that  Charles  in  his  first 
disappointment  would  seek  for  her,  and  knowing  nature 
would  direct  his  inquiries  to  the  great  city.  But  now, 
while  she  expended  the  whole  day  in  the  thoroughfares 
she  had  no  fear  of  discovery,  as  she  reasoned  upon  the 
probable  result  of  the  acknowledgment  of  her  heartless- 
ness.  Yet  there  was  a  hope  which  she  could  not  con 
quer,  living  in  her  breast,  though  it  actuated  not  her 
actions,  that  she  might  see  his  face  once  again — but  to 
fly  from  him  forever,  and  hide  in  more  profound  se 
crecy  from  his  loved  presence.  "  No,  I  need  not  fear 
his  discovering  me  in  this  great  city.  Indeed,  if  he 
would  seek  me  he  has  already  done  so,  and  now,  per 
haps,  his  mind  and  soul  are  turning  towards  Laura,  and 
renewing  his  friendship  with  her.  Her  society  is  effac 
ing  the  inciting  remembrance  of  me,  and  what  a  wretch 
would  I  be  were  I  to  write  now  to  her." 

"  She  would  surely  reveal  it  to  him,  and  my  conceal 
ment  would  be  thus  exposed.  He  might  furbish  up 
his  infatuation  again,  and  I  should  assist  him  towards 
a  listless  future ;  and  what  for  ?  Because  I  was  hungry 


438  DINAH. 

one  day.  You  shall  not  suffer  at  any  rate,  father.  I 
have  money  enough  to  return  to  Tully's.  I  will  not 
touch  that,  it  is  sacred.  Judy  will  receive  us  again, 
and  we  can.  keep  in  secret  there  until  the  winter  and 
the  crisis  be  passed.  Then  for  a  glorious  summer  of 
work.  He'll  be  married  and  will  assist  me  to  a  situa 
tion,  and — Gracious,  the  idea  !  it  makes  me  sick !  Oli 
dear  !  it  makes  my  soul  sick  to  think  of  him  !  "Why 
don't  he  come  and  tear  me  from  this  wretchedness  ? 
Dare  he  forget  me  !  I  am  his  equal !  I  am — pshaw 
— a  fool,  and  he  is  my  peer,  if  he  thinks  of  me  now." 

Her  measures  were  soon  taken.  The  money  which 
she  had  gotten  by  the  disposal  of  the  tools,  with  two 
or  three  dollars  added,  she  hoarded  with  a  miser's  greed 
in  her  bosom.  In  case  of  need  she  could  thus  return 
to  the  negroes  ;  though,  perhaps,  her  misgivings  of  their 
ability  to  sustain  them,  at  least  a  hope  of  bettering  her 
condition  herself,  postponed  the  execution  of  the  re 
luctant  determination.  With  the  rest  of  the  money, 
which  hardly  amounted  to  three  dollars,  she  purchased 
a  stock  of  pocket  books  and  pen-knives.  Her  father 
she  kept  in  warmth  and  food,  but  who  shall  know  the 
physical  misery  of  cold  and  hunger  which  she  passed 
through  the  next  few  days  with  her  attempt  at  becom 
ing  a  New  York  street  merchant.  Who  shall  know  all 
the  bitterness  of  soul  she  experienced  before  she  gave 
up.  "  I'll  stand  it  as  long  as  I  can.  !N"o  one  else  is 
interfered  with,  and  I  have  a  right  to  do  as  I  please," 
said  she  to  herself  wilfully.  "  But  I  will  not  let  father 
suffer.  Charles  may  marry  whom  he  pleases,  and  take 
care  of  his  own  affairs  !  He  wouldn't  exactly  expect 
me  to  murder  my  father !  What  a  sentimental  idea  ! 
that  he's  so  fond  of  me  I  can't  trust  myself  in  his  neigh- 


DINAH.  439" 

borliood  without  endangering  his  prospects.  One  day 
more,  and  if  I  can't  sell  any  thing,  I'll  break  into  my 
treasury  and  then  write  to  somebody — Nat — Laura — 
for  more.  If  they  tell,  it  isn't  my  fault."  And  she  did 
break  into  her  treasury.  Shilling  after  shilling  went 
in  the  cause  of  filial  solicitude.  One  day  she  stood 
with  her  little  stock  by  the  railings  of  a  noble  house  in 
a  by-street.  Tip  had  got  in  between  her  dress  and  the 
fence.  His  head  was  slightly  emerged  over  the  basket 
in  his  hungry  reflections,  and  he  was  contemplating  the 
amount  of  nourishment  which  might  probably  be  ex 
tracted  from  one  or  two  pocket-books,  and  regarded  the 
bone-handles  of  the  two  knives  with  a  wistful  eye.  A 
well-dressed  gentleman  stopped  and  spoke  some  words 
to  Dinah,  and  Tip  knew  he  was  a  rascal.  He  darted 
out  and  barked  at  him  furiously,  but  received  the 
coward's  blow,  which  caused  him  to  retreat  to  the  other 
side  of  the  street  and  lift  his  voice  on  high  for  a  short 
space  in  canine  sorrow.  The  gentleman,  rebuked  by 
the  pallor  of  the  girl's  face  at  his  infamous  words, 
walked  on  quickly,  while  she  called  to  her  side  her 
humble  but  scared  protector,  yet  trembling  with  his 
fright  and  the  pain  of  his  contusion.  She  had  eaten 
nothing  since  yesterday  at  that  hour,  and  the  cold  was 
increasing.  Leaving  the  hated  spot,  the  two  creatures 
walked  in  desperation  to  the  sunny  side  of  another  and 
more  frequented  street. 

No  answer  had  come  to  the  consecutive  letters 
•  which  she  had  been  forced  at  last  to  write  to  Laura 
and  to  Nat,  and  her  last  dollar  was  gone.  "  I  must 
go.  Great  God  !  my  father  will  suffer.  I  will  beg,  I 
will  steal  enough  to  carry  us  back.  They  shall  buy. 
They  must  want  pocket-books  for  their  tailor's  bills,  if 


440  DINAH. 

not  for  their  money.  They  must  have  knives  to  cut 
their  throats,  if  not  to  mend  their  pens,"  cried  she,  in 
the  irony  of  misery,  standing  up  near  a  shop  door  as 
the  people  went  by.  She  had  tried  and  tried  in  vain. 
Two  men  came  along.  She  took  up  a  pocket-book  and 
pen-knife,  and  trotted  along  after  them. 

"  Go  away  !  "  said  one  of  them,  peremptorily. 
"Yes,  run  away,  young  girl,"  joined  in  the  other. 
"  "We  can't  attend  to  you  now." 

"  You  must  buy  one,"  said  she,  almost  fiercely. 

"  Eh  !  "  replied  the  affable  man,  noticing  her  face 
as  they  walked  quickly  along.  "  Well,  I'll  be  along  to 
morrow.  We  are  in  a  hurry  now.  I'll  buy  one  to 
morrow." 

"  But  you  must  buy  one  now,"  said  she,  in  weary 
persistence.  "  Oh  do,  please  !  I  tell  you,  you  must," 
continued  she,  with  a  kind  of  laugh  of  despair. 

She  stopped  and  turned  away.  The  stern  man  had 
persuaded  the  weaker  one  that  he  was  a  fool,  and  had 
spoken  such  a  bewildering  word  to  her  that  it  sealed 
her  disappointment.  Just  then  her  wandering  eye  fell 
upon  the  open  window  of  a  carriage,  with  a  trunk,  roll 
ing  rapidly  by. 

"  Heavens !  Charles !  "  she  cried  wildly,  and  stum 
bled  forward  to  the  curb-stone.  One  or  two  passengers 
noticed  her  idly,  but  she  had  recovered  from  her  tem 
porary  agitation.  Where  then  was  the  eternal  sym 
pathy  of  hearts  that  it  did  not  hear  that  loving  appeal  ? 
The  carriage  passed  on,  and  turned  a  distant  corner. 
"  He  is  going  !  He  is  going  away.  He  came  to  seek 
me.  He  cannot  give  me  up,  and  I  cannot  give  him  up. 
Hypocrite,  liar  as  I  am,  he  would  take  me  to  him. 
God  made  me  for  him. — Thank  heaven,  he  heard  me 


DINAH.  441- 

not !  "  continued  she,  and  bowed  her  head.  "  Oh  dear, 
what  is  this  weakness  ?  I  am  not  going  to  be  sick !  " 

She  was  so  tired  she  could  not  help  sleeping  that 
night,  but  it  was  only  with  deep  s!eep  that  his  form  was 
effaced  from  her  imagination.  The  remnant  of  the  loaf 
was  left  for  the  morrow.  There  were  other  people  in 
want  in  the  house.  If  she  had  asked  for  a  bone  for 
Tip,  her  neighbors  would  have  asked  her  why  she  did 
not  drive  him  into  the  street.  "  To-morrow  I  beg,  and 
if  that  will  not  do,  I'll  go  straight  to  Pine  Street  and 
bolt  into  the  counting  house,  and  demand  my  rights  as 
a  friend  of  the  family.  Or  else  I  will  seek  admission 
to  the  work-house." 

The  next  day  she  turned  away  from  the  post-office 
with  heavy  heart,  and  started  off  in  her  distraction  to 
Wall  street.  An  old  gentleman,  who  had  been  into  a 
bank  to  receive  his  dividends,  was  entering  a  carnage 
with  outriders.  In  the  carriage  was  a  sweet  face  un 
derneath  beautiful  hair,  inclining  to  the  Roman  idea  of 
highest  beauty.  This  hair  was  the  only  trouble  of  that 
young  girl's  existence.  She  had  even  been  called 
"  carrot-top  "  by  her  schoolmates  in  excited  moments. 
She  was  a  proud  girl  and  did  not  fancy  beggars,  but 
she  said  something  to  her  father. 

"  Look  at  her  hair  ?  Buy  her  whole  stock  ?  It 
is  not  worth  any  thing,"  said  he.  "  Set  up  for 
myself,  eh,  ha !  ha !  You  will  not  spend  the  money 
for  liquor,  will  you  ?  "  continued  he,  addressing  Dinah 
suspiciously.  "  But  what  of  that ;  Dr.  Sommers  tells 
us  to  keep  up  charity  on  Paley's  plan.  Yes.  Here  are 
two  dollars.  No,  it  is  a  five,  by  the  TJ.  S.  6's !  Well, 
you  needn't  think  to  get  any  more,  and  you  can  run 
away  at  once.  I  request  you,  in  fact,  to  go  away  as — " 
19* 


44:2  DINAH. 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  papa,"  said  the  ruddy-locked 
girl. 

"  Eli,  I — "  continued  the  parent. 

"  Come  here,  dear,*'  continued  the  young  lady,  with 
an  eccentric  design  in  the  desperation  of  her  desire.  "  I 
live  at  440  14th  street,  between  the  4th  and  5th  aven 
ues.  (Fright  has  often  a  singular  effect  in  changing 
the  color  of  the  hair !)  May  be — may  be — you  know 
a  housebreaker ;  if  so,  tell  him  our  house  is  a  good 
place.  He  can  find  lots  of  things  there,"  said  she, 
naively.  "  Now  go  away.  (I  can't  bear  to  look  at  her 
hair.")  The  carriage  moved  away,  and  Dinah  saw  the 
heiress  smiling  an  adieu  of  fond  envy  from  the  window 
to  her  locks. 

What  were  her  feelings  ?  The  gratitude  which  had 
welled  up  in  her  heart  lasted  till  the  carriage  was 
gone,  and  then  gave  place  to  nabob  feelings.  She  al 
most  ran  as  she  returned  to  her  father  and  Tip.  Her 
plan  was  quickly  made.  They  took  their  bundles,  the 
rent  of  the  miserable  little  half-furnished  garret  was 
paid,  and  placing  the  key  in  the  hands  of  the  Dutch 
grocery  man,  they  bade  adieu  to  the  house,  and  wended 
their  way  to  the  Hudson  cars.  She  had  money  enough 
to  take  her  to  within  forty  miles  of  home,  and  she  was 
trusting  in.  God. 

She  hoped  all  the  while  for  secrecy.  The  last 
twenty-five  miles  they  walked.  They  then  met  with 
some  rebuffs,  for  they  started  out  on  the  high  road  and 
were  without  money.  It  was  the  road  of  the  trampers 
to  Canada,  and  the  people  were  suspicious  enough  to 
make  no  discriminations.  On  one  occasion,  they  en 
countered  one  of  those  fresh  natures  not  yet  sordid 
enough  to  calculate  the  chances  of  deception.  He  was 


DINAH.  443 

a  kind-hearted  farmer  who  came  to  his  door,  and  after 
many  sentiments  of  pity,  extended  his  benevolence  in 
showing  the  journeyers  a  house  in  the  distance,  where 
he  said  he  thought  they  might  obtain  a  night's  lodging. 
That  night,  after  dark,  they  stole  into  a  barn,  Tip  hav 
ing  succeeded,  after  a  furious  wagging  of  tails,  in  fas 
cinating  with  his  debonair  character  a  bull-dog  who 
guarded  the  premises.  The  father  was  comfortable  and 
pleased.  They  had  not  walked  far,  owing  to  one  or  two 
lifts  in  carts,  and  she  had  kept  his  body  warm,  perhaps 
at  her  own  expense,  and  his  mind  cheerful  by  all  the 
little  artful  devices  of  her  filial  piety.  At  the  last  place 
they  stopped,  she  had  unobservedly  put  half  the  meal 
which  had  been  given  her,  in  her  pocket  for  him.  They 
all  three  slept  together  huddled  up  in  the  hay,  the  bull 
dog  having  quietly  retired  to  his  kennel  to  meditate 
upon  a  variety  of  diversions  with  which  he  hospitably 
proposed  on  the  morrow  to  entertain  Tip  as  his  guest. 
The  seeds  of  the  hay  got  into  Tip's  eyes  very  frequently, 
he  was  very  hungry,  and  on  one  or  two  occasions  was 
much  alarmed  by  a  sudden  and  fearful  increase  in  the 
deep-chested  snoring  of  the  oxen,  but  otherwise  he  en 
joyed  it  very  much. 

Fearful  of  abuse,  Dinah  roused  her  father  just  at 
the  dawn,  to  start  again.  The  remnant  of  the  meal 
which  she  had  reserved  for  her  father  was  given  to 
him.  Tip,  with  some  difficult  manoeuvring,  captured 
for  himself  an  old  bone  from  his  friend,  whose  hospi 
table  feelings  were  temporarily  impaired  by  the  jeal 
ousy  of  his  instincts  with  regard  to  food.  On  the  floor 
of  the  barn  were  a  few  pieces  of  turnips  and  pumpkins 
half  cut  up  for  the  oxen,  which  had  carelessly  been 
dropped  from  the  shovel  when  offered  to  them.  As 


444  DINAH. 

there  was  a  slight  nervous  irritation  produced  in 
Dinah's  system  by  hunger,  she  did  not  think  it  worth 
while  to  attempt  the  stringy  and  frozen  vegetables 
themselves,  but  she  ate  the  seeds  of  the  pumpkins,  and 
from  the  wintry  tops  of  the  turnips  she  culled  several 
little  tender  appetizing  leaves  which  sufficed  for  her 
silent  morning  meal.  It  had  been  growing  colder  in 
the  night,  and  she  felt  also  a  singular  lassitude.  "  I 
might  as  well  lie  down  again  for  a  moment  and  think. 
It  is  winter  now  and  they  won't  get  up  early,"  said  she 
to  herself.  She  thought  of  how  near  home  they  were, 
and  how  easily  they  could  get  there  before  dark  with 
out  fatiguing  her  father,  when  her  eyelids  closed  and 
nature  again  asserted  its  sway  over  her  tired  young 
limbs. 

When  she  awoke  she  found  two  females  standing 
over  her,  one  a  middle-aged  girl,  the  other  an  old  lady, 
without  doubt  her  mother.  With  the  sweet  cunning 
which  women  have  and  men  have  not,  they  seemed  to 
know  the  state  of  the  case.  The  younger  threw  her 
arms  around  Dinah.  In  spite  of  her  suffering,  that 
look  of  ease,  grace,  and  dignity,  mingled  with  her  ac 
customed  dreamy  expression,  still  maintained  its  posi 
tion  in  the  countenance  and  frame  of  the  latter. 

"  What  are  you  crying  for,  my  daughter,"  said  the 
old  lady,  severely,  to  the  younger  one.  She  imme 
diately  blew  her  nose  with  a  noise  like  C  in  the  bag 
pipe  to  conceal  the  sudden  ebullition  of  her  own  feelings, 
and  darting  at  the  confused  old  gentleman,  followed  her 
daughter's  example  by  falling  upon  his  neck  with  an 
honorable  embrace.  They  saw  the  devotion  of  the 
young  girl  to  her  father.  She  had  taken  off  her  flannel 
petticoat  to  wrap  it  around  him,  and  he  was  now  sit- 


DINAH.  4:45 

ting  up  merely,  quite  unable  to  get  any  further,  owing 
to  the  complicated  manner  in  which  his  legs  had  been 
swathed  against  the  night's  rigor.  The  old  lady  led 
them  into  the  house,  and  gave  them  a  pleasant  meal. 
She  told  them  her  goodman  had  gone  away,  and  she 
said  that  they  had  made  her  blush  because  they  had 
thought  her  house  was  not  made  to  shelter  poor  but 
honest  folks. 

Dinah  satisfied  their  honest  curiosity,  and  yet  she 
kept  her  secret  from  them,  and  especially  her  destina 
tion.  Their  generous  entreaties  to  accept  further  hos 
pitalities  such  as  their  own  humble  condition  afforded, 
she  answered  by  the  kind  look  of  gratitude  and  the 
silent  prayer  that  happiness  might  be  their  store.  The 
old  lady  having  noticed  that  Dinah  coughed  somewhat, 
told  her  that  a  mixture  of  rum  and  molasses,  and  hog's 
lard,  held  before  the  fire  till  it  simmered,  was  a  good 
thing.  Her  old  man  took  it  whenever  he  caught  cold, 
although  in  a  somewhat  peculiar  manner,  as  in  cases  of 
enrheumed  necessity  he  was  accustomed  to  grease  his 
nose  with  the  lard,  eat  the  molasses  on  hot  cakes  in  the 
morning,  and  drink  the  rum  all  day.  By  evening  he 
generally  managed  to  get  himself  into  a  perspiration 
and  a  desire  to  go  to  bed. 

A  bitter  icy  blast  blew  at  intervals,  and  flakes  of 
blinding  snow  were  driven  into  the  faces  of  the  three 
humble  journeyers,  as  at  last  they  walked  up  the  famil 
iar  road.  In  the  distance  stood  out  dimly  upon  the 
leaden  sky  and  lost  in  its  heaviness,  the  honorable  spire 
of  God's  house,  and  on  this  side  nearly  concealed  by 
the  multitude  of  intervening  trees  might  be  dimly  seen 
the  chimneys  of  the  lofty  mansion  at  Pompney  Place, 
once  the  home  of  her  mother,  and  now  of  her  beloved 


4:4:6  D  I  N  A  II  . 

Charles.  It  was  dark  as  they  passed  by  the  iron  rail 
ings  of  the  park,  and  the  bare  and  aged  elms  and  the 
evergreen  firs  uttered  a  mournful  sound  with  their 
branches.  Dinah  turned  her  face  towards  the  lights 
of  the  house,  and  then  quickened  her  step  forward  to 
a  rapid  pace.  Her  dizziness  soon  went  away,  but  she 
could  not  refrain  from  telling  her  feelings  to  some  one. 

"  Tip,"  said  she,  "  I  am  sick,  Tip." 

They  soon  reached  the  clergyman's  house.  "  We 
must  stop  here.  Do  not  forsake  us.  I  cannot  go  any 
farther,"  murmured  she,  weakly,  as  if  communing  with 
her  Master. 

They  knocked  at  the  door,  and  all  three  entered  the 
hall  and  stood  there  in  silence  together,  awaiting  the 
return  of  the  summons.  Her  lips  were  thin  and  her 
face  sharp,  but  the  old  beautiful  look  was  still  on  her 
countenance.  There  was  a  noise  of  voices.  Charles 
and  Dr.  Fuffles  emerged  from  the  dining-room  to  cross 
to  the  study. 

"  Great  Heaven !  "  cried  the  young  man,  and  rushed 
forward.  She  sank  gently  at  his  feet  with  a  murmur 
of  feebleness,  for  the  brave  heart  had  at  last  given  out. 
That  bosom,  exposed  to  the  snowy  blasts  of  winter,  he 
pressed  to  his  own  in  his  joy  and  his  passion.  Dr. 
Fuffles  had  caught  the  old  father,  and  jerking  the  un 
fortunate;  being  from  his  legs  dragged  him  with  stran 
gling  energy  to  the  large  fire  in  the  library,  and  com 
menced  to  violently  remove  the  things  which  Dinah 
had  wrapped  about  him.  Gluckinson,  who  had  driven 
Charles  over,  rushed  excitedly  into  the  room.  "  Hooray, 
Doctor !  "  said  he  in  his  joy.  "  Three  cheers !  Hooray ! 
Dinah's  come ! " 


DINAH.  447 

"  Three  cheers  !  "  Baid  the  doctor,  getting  up  into  a 
chair  wildly. 

"  Hurrah  !  "  said  they  together  in  hoarse  unison. 


CHAPTEE    LXIX. 


THE  FELICITY  OF  THALASSITTS  FOR  NAT.  —  BAYLON  ABSCONDS. 


had  tried  so  often  the  unsuccessful  manifesta 
tions  of  his  affections  that  he  would  still  have  kept  up 
his  eccentric  course  towards  Miss  "VVellwood,  had  not 
Charles  violated  his  pledge  of  secrecy  to  his  young 
neighbor,  and  revealed  to  the  young  advocate,  ere  he 
renewed  his  pursuit  of  Dinah,  the  name  of  the  true  ob 
ject  of  Laura's  sweet  affection.  In  the  moments  of 
ecstasy,  as  he  grasped  Charles's  hand,  which  warmly 
returned  his  pressure,  he  probably  experienced  some 
such  sweet  suffocation  as  Glaucus  did  when  he  was 
smothered  in  a  cask  of  honey.  It  was  certain  that  he 
remained  speechless  for  a  few  moments,  but  the  impul 
sive  kiss  which  he  then  placed  upon  Charles's  pallid 
cheek,  told  his  sympathy  with  his  friend's  sorrow,  while 
it  completely  manifested  his  own  exquisite  happiness. 

Laura  with  her  father  had  gone  to  Albany.  The 
gloom  which  was  spread  over  Charles's  household  lent 
a  horror  to  her  own  unhappy  feelings,  and  she  sought 
relief  in  a  visit  to  the  gay  scenes  which  generally  at 
tend  the  assembling  of  the  legislature.  To  say  that 
ISTathaniel  flew  towards  the  capital  would  be  perhaps 
to  use  an  inadequate  expression.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 


4A8  DINAH. 

he  soon  drew  up  before  Laura's  hotel  in  a  horrid  hack 
and  a  terrible  flutter. 

One  moment  to  inquire  of  the  clerk,  the  next  to 
bound  up  stairs  towards  Laura's  parlor.  The  old  gen- 
.tleman  was  coming  along  the  hall.  He  grasped  the 
young  lawyer  in  intense  excitement.  "  He's  here  !  In 
this  very  hotel.  He's  eating  crabs  and  drinking  milk 
in  the  ladies'  ordinary.  Hun  in  to  Laura  there !  I'll 
be  back  presently.  I  must  find  out  what  he's  here 
for." 

The  young  lady  sank  upon  a  sofa  overcome  with 
surprise. 

"  I  had  to  come.  I  had  to  come — on  court  busi 
ness,"  exclaimed  Nat,  wildly.  "  I  met  papa  outside 
and  he  told  me — Oh  Laura,"  continued  the  melting 
lover,  sinking  down  upon  his  knees  and  seizing  her 
hand,  which  he  covered  with  kisses. 

"  He's  gone  up  stairs.  He's  gone  up  stairs,"  said 
the  squire,  rushing  wildly  into  the  room.  "  Hollo  ! 
what's  that  ? " 

"  I'll  wager  you  now,"  said  the  delirious  Nat — "  I'll 
wager  you  saw  me  holding  her  hand,  ha  !  ha  !  " 

"  Oh  the  devil !     "Why  you  are  holding  it  now." 

"  It  is  paste,  papa  !  Mr.  Bonney  says  the  jeweller 
has  deceived  you,"  said  the  young  lady,  quickly. 

"  Oh  yes  !  and  the  rest  of  it  pinchbeck.  I'll  wager 
my  head  it's  pinchbeck  and  your  daughter  may  hold 
the  stakes." 

"  He's  gone  up  to  his  room,  Nat,  he's  gone  up.  I 
must  watch  him  closely.  It's  opposite  mine  in  the 
area.  I  can  look  into  his  window,"  said  the  parent, 
unable  to  stop  longer  and  diving  frantically  into  an 
adjoining  bedchamber.  "  By  the  way,  what  the  devil 


DINAH.  449 

is  that,"  said  he,  suddenly,  compelled  to  pause  by  a 
startling  noise  behind  him.  "  It  sounded  like  kissing. 
Confound  me  if  it  didn't.  Hollo  !  What  is  that  ?  " 

"  He's  gone  down  stairs !     He's  gone  across  the 
street,  whoever  he  is,"  said  Nat,  with  temporary  pres-  . 
ence  of  mind  in  the  midst  of  his  absorption. 

"  Down  and  after  him,"  said  the  old  gentleman, 
bolting  in  renewed  excitement  for  the  staircase. 

"  He  is  gone.  Close  the  doors,  Nathaniel,  else  wo 
may  perchance  be  interrupted.  Are  they  all  closed  ?  " 

"  No.  The  door  of  the  bookcase  is  not,"  said  the 
lover  in  his  delirium. 

"  Never  mind.  But,  Nathaniel,  ere  you  speak,  I 
wish  first  to  confess  to  you — " 

"  No,  he  hasn't  gone  out !  He  hasn't  gone  out ! 
He's  in  the  barber  shop,"  exclaimed  the  squire,  looking 
in  and  rapidly  disappearing  again. 

("  Heavens  !  At  this  moment !  It  is  the  only  mo 
ment.  The  fates  may  change  their  mind.)  Do  you  see 
that  plethoric  individual  ?  "  said  Nat,  briefly,  to  the 
waiter  in  the  hall ;  "  keep  him  away  from  here  for  fif 
teen  minutes,  and  I'll  give  you  five  dollars.  Tell  him 
any  thing.  He's  after  somebody.  Tell  him  he  went 
away  in  a  horse — just  now,  in  a  horse  and  wagon." 

Thus  placing  the  waiter  upon  guard,  he  no  doubt 
reminded  him  of  the  fate  of  Alectryon,  (whom  Mars 
turned  into  a  cock  for  not  keeping  Yulcan  away  from 
his  soft  interview  with  Yenus.)  At  any  rate  he  told 
him  he  would  "  wring  his  neck  for  him,  if  he  didn't 
keep  his  eyes  open."  The  waiter  was  a  man  of  Napo 
leonic  comprehension  and  forecast. 

"  He's  gone  up  on  the  roof,  sir,  to  look  at  the  skaters 


450  D  I N  A II . 

on  the  river,"  said  lie,  running  after  the  squire  and 
pulling  his  coat. 

"  Eh  ?  Has  he  ?  You  know  him  ?  Say  nothing. 
Lead  me  up  that  way.  Lead  me  up." 

"  Yes,  sir.  Follow  me,  sir.  Follow  me,"  said  the 
waiter,  rushing  along  dark  corridors  and  mounting  un 
known  staircases.  "  Here,  sir,  here !  "  continued  he 
to  the  panting  old  gentleman,  as  they  arrived  upon  the 
garret  floor.  "  In  here  ; "  and  he  gave  the  exhausted 
squire  a  forcible  shove  into  a  small  unfurnished  cham 
ber,  turned  the  key  upon  him,  and  fled  to  the  head  of 
the  staircase. 

"  Fifteen  minutes  are  almost  up.  I  can  afford  to 
get  kicked,  and  he  wears  patent  leathers ;  "  soliloquized 
he,  as  a  deadened  sound  of  scuffling,  pounding,  and  cries 
for  release  now  emanated  from  the  deserted  chamber. 

"  It  wasn't  me.  It  wasn't  me.  I  was  ordered  to 
do  it,"  continued  he,  as  the  exasperated  squire  grasped 
him  by  the  hair. 

"Who!  Who  was  it?  The  fat  man?  The  fat 
man  ?  "  said  he,  quickly. 

"  Yes,  sir,  yes,"  said  the  imperilled  waiter,  with 
great  promptness.  "  Yes,  sir.  In  the  bar  room.  He 
told  me  to  do  it." 

It  was  by  this  happy  time  that  Laura  had  finished 
her  murmured  confession  of  love,  and  was  now  explain 
ing  with  the  eloquence  of  affection  the  singular  attitude 
of  her  friendship  for  Charles,  and  his  towards  her,  which, 
under  the  influence  of  the  friendship  and  hopes  of  their 
respective  families,  they  had  mutually  supposed  was 
love  for  each  other.  And  now  Charles's  love  for  Dinah 
seemed  no  longer  to  the  young  advocate  a  passing  in 
fatuation.  At  least  his  sudden  want  of  love  for  Laura 


DINAH.  451 

seemed  no  longer  mysterious,  and  they  both  moment 
arily  prayed  that  he  might  find  her  speedily,  for  it 
would  add  to  their  joy. 

"  And  I  knew  it,"  said  Nat,  as  Laura  exclaimed  that 
she  must  have  loved  him  all  the  while,  from  the  very 
moment  when  she  first  saw  him.  "  I  knew  it,  but  I 
thought  it  was  only  admiration *for  my  intellect." 

"  Oh  no,  Nat,  no !  "  replied  Laura,  artlessly,  and 
turning  up  her  face  towards  his  again.  "  That  never 
once  troubled  me,  indeed." 

"  Oh  yes,  as  we  never  had  any  need  of  using  our 
intellects  in  our  conversations,  you  never  saw  the  bril 
liancy  of  mine."  And  he  gave  her  one  of  those  in- 
eifable  kisses  which  resound  in  the  heart  of  a  female 
like  a  thunderbolt  in  a  thick  forest. 

("  I  cannot  bear  so  much  happiness  all  at  once !  ") 
said  the  young  lady.  "  Run  away  for  a  moment,  Na 
thaniel.  Bun  and  find  papa,  dear.  Oh,  he  may  be 
come  suspicious." 

"  Oh  yes,  dear,  but  soon  I  will  always  be  with  you. 
Then  I  never — I'll  never  leave  you.  No,  not  for  one 
moment,"  said  the  impassioned  lover,  with  intense  ro 
mance.  "  I  swear  !  " 

"  Oh  don't.  It  would  be  too  much.  And  run  now, 
there's  a  dear,"  said  the  sensible  girl. 

"  Gracious !  I  forgot.  Who's  this  he  is  running 
after  so  ?  "What  makes  him  so — " 

"  And  oh  dear,  so  did  I.  A  person  arrived  here  last 
night,  and  his  presence  has  appeared  to  set  papa  wild. 
He  says  he  must  find  out  what  he  is  doing  here  and — 
his  name  is  Mudgeon." 

"  Mudgeon  !    I  know,  I  know.     Back  quickly.     Oh 


452  DINAH. 

t 

my  Laura,  good-bye !  "  continued  the  young  lawyer 
with  a  wild  embrace,  lasting  nine  minutes. 

On  coming  below,  opposite  an  ante-room,  a  singular 
sight  presented  itself  to  the  young  advocate's  vision. 
Two  fat  men  in  personal  combat  stood  clinched  together 
therein,  each  unable  to  move  farther,  and  in  deadly 
silence,  excepting  the  sound  of  their  fitful  respiration. 
One  of  them  was  his  father-in-law.  The  other,  he  saw, 
was  the  ancient  enemy,  Mudgeon.  As  he  arrived,  the 
latter  fell  down  suddenly,  and  the  squire  fell  on  top  of 
him  and  then  rolled  over  on  his  back,  and  they  both 
remained  arrayed  in  this  manner  for  a  few  exhausted 
moments,  like  a  couple  of  mammoth  turtles. 

"What— the  devil— What  the  devil!"  here  ex 
claimed  at  last  the  astonished  Mudgeon. 

"  Ha !  I  threw  him,"  exclaimed  the  squire,  breath 
ing  heavily,  but  in  triumph.  "  I  threw  him  down.  I 
got  the  better  of  him." 

"  My  lumbago  !  my  lumbago  !  You  couldn't  have 
done  it,  if  it  hadn't  been  for  my  lumbago,"  gasped  the 
other. 

"  Lift  'em  up,"  said  ISTat  to  the  waiters  who  had 
gathered  around.  "  Lift  'em  up.  Kemove  that  one. 
I'll  take  charge  of  this  one." 

"He  wanted  to  murder  me  and  get  my  property 
sold.  He  attempted  to  assassinate  me,"  cried  the  re 
treating  Mudgeon,  as  they  carried  him  off. 

"  I  didn't !  "  indignantly  denied  the  other.  "  He 
locked  me  up.  He  bribed  a  waiter  to  lock  me  up ! 
In  a  garret,  with  an  ugly-tempered  cat,  who  had  six 
kittens." 

"  Hey  !  "  said  Nat. 

"  But  you  won't  get  it.    You  won't  get  it.     I  won't 


DINAH.  453 

sell  it,"  cried  Hudgeon,  tauntingly.  "  You'll  hear  what 
I'm  going  to  do  with  it.  You'll  hear,,  ha  !  ha  !  " 

"  Where's  your  lumbago  ?  Why  didn't  it  hurt  you  ? 
You  haven't  got  any.  I  knew  you  never  had  it,"  said 
the  other,  hurling  back  an  equal  exasperation. 

They  both  made  a  superhuman  effort  to  rush  at 
each  other  again.  But  a  self-possessed  waiter  with  a 
sofa  cushion  quietly  knocked  Mudgeon  into  an  arm 
chair  where  he  was  fain  to  remain  seated,  while  his 
opponent,  with  a  few  rash  attempts  at  gesticulations  of 
defiance,  was  hustled  excitedly  from  the  room  by  Nat 
and  the  other  waiters. 

Mudgeon  sat  up  all  the  next  night,  in  order  to  have 
it  noised  about,  so  as  to  reach  his  enemy's  ears,  that  he 
couldn't  lie  down  owing  to  his  lumbago,  and  then  left 
the  hotel  in  triumph.  Deprived  of  the  excitement  of 
his  presence,  and  failing  to  derive  poignance  from  the 
revival  of  his  anecdotic  powers,  the  old  gentleman  im 
mediately  longed  for  another  intrigue  of  the  match 
making  order,  and  Nat  gratified  him.  'With  great 
caution  and  a  studied  circumlocution,  he  at  once  re 
vealed  to  him  that  he  had  come  expressly  to  Albany 
to  arrange  a  concealed  affair  of  long  standing ;  that  he 
had  already  enlisted  his  daughter's  sympathy,  and  that 
he  now  sought  his  aid  to  intercede  for  him  with  the 
friends  of  the  young  lady  as  he  was  cruelly  opposed  by 
them,  especially  by  the  father,  who  had  other  views  in 
prospect  for  his  daughter. 

"  He  shall  renounce  them  !  I  will  talk  to  the  ras 
cal.  We'll  see  whether  he  can  stand  our  powers  of 
diplomacy,  eh,  Nat?  Tell  me  the  miscreant's  name, 
and  you  may  consider  it  as  settled." 

Nat,  upon  hearing  this  warm  speech,  concluded  it 


454:  DINAH. 

to  be  a  felicitous  moment  to  divulge.  He  did  so,  and 
the  old  gentleman  immediately  mounted  to  his  apart 
ments  and  broke  every  piece  of  furniture  which  stood 
therein.  Having  performed  this  feat,  he  paid  his  bill 
in  a  dignified  manner  and  walked  off  to  the  cars  with 
his  unhappy  daughter,  Nat  following  in  intense  excite 
ment,  breaking  his  suspenders  in  his  energetic  efforts 
to  mend  the  ties  of  friendship,  and  losing  his  hat  in  en 
deavoring  to  gain  a  re-entrance  to  the  outraged  parent's 
esteem. 

"  I  can't  support  it !  I  can't  support  it !  "  ex 
claimed  the  latter,  distractedly  assisting  the  porter 
with  the  trunks,  while  he  accused  the  pathetic  Nat  of 
treachery. 

"  "Well,  drap  it  then  !  Drap  it !  "  said  the  accom 
modating  porter. 

"  It's  only  a  temporary  fancy  of  Charles,  I  tell  you," 
said  the  old  gentleman.  "  Besides,  it's  an  unequal  match. 
You  are  poor  and  she  is — " 

"  I  know  it.  I  know  it,"  replied  Nat  in  desperation. 
"  But  splendor  with  her  is  preferable  to  poverty  with 
another." 

"  But  I've  promised  her  money  to  Charles.  They've 
as  good  as  got  it.  You  won't  get  any  money.  There's 
no  money." 

"  Good  !  Hurrah  !  "  said  Nat,  in  suppressed  ex 
citement,  following  the  old  gentleman  into  the  car. 

"  But  you  must  give  her  up  !  You  must  give  her 
up  !  " 

"  She  told  me  she  loved  me.  It  is  a  little  too  much 
to  expect  that  human  nature  should  be  insensible  to  the 
flattery  of  affection." 

"  Well,  I'll  see,  I'll  see,"  said  the  parent  inanely. 


DINAH.  455 

Tliis  last  remark  was  made  after  they  arrived 
at  Templeville,  Nat  and  the  old  gentleman  having 
wrangled  for  five  hours  on  the  interesting  subject  in 
various  parts  of  the  train,  to  which  the  latter  restlessly 
shifted  himself. 

"  Oh  my  father,  receive  your  son's  blessing,"  cried 
the  joyous  Laura. 

"  And  be  happy  in  your  new  child,"  said  Nat,  mak 
ing  a  rash  attempt  to  kneel. 

"  You'll  be  handy  for  me  to  tell  stories  to,  Nat !  " 

"When  they  arrived  home,  they  learned  with  feel 
ings  of  joy  the  return  of  Dinah,  for  they  had  heard  with 
admiration  the  cause  of  her  flight.  But  with  sorrow 
they  heard,  also,  of  the  illness  which  she  had  contracted 
in  her  noble  struggle. 

A  day  or  two  after,  Nat  experienced  much  surprise 
in  receiving  a  letter  from  Rudolph  still  abroad,  contain 
ing  a  power  of  attorney,  and  asking  him  to  employ 
his  legal  knowledge  in  settling  his  overseer  Baylon's 
accounts,  and  discharging  him  from  his  situation. 

As  a  tribute  to  Dinah's  suggestive  estimate  of  the 
latter's  character,  he  had  perhaps  concluded  to  take 
this  step.  Perhaps  it  was  a  return  to  common  sense. 
It  was  not  altogether  too  late,  but  it  is  worthy  of  note, 
however,  to  remark,  that  the  amiable  overseer  upon 
hearing  the  news,  did  not  wait  to  surrender  his  books 
to  the  young  lawyer,  but  fled  incontinently  to  seek  im 
punity  for  their  discrepancies  in  the  troubled  and  semi- 
sealed  regions  of  the  South,  taking  with  him  to  pay  his 
expenses  the  strong  box  of  his  absent  and  long-deluded 
employer. 


4:56  DINAH. 

CHAPTER    LXX. 

r.EMOP.SE. THE    FADING    FLOWEK. 

As  she  entered  the  room  of  her  home  in  which  the 
suffering  girl  lay,  the  mother  thought  of  how,  from  the 
first  moment  in  which  she  saw  her,  she  had  been  kept 
by  Providence,  (as  if  unworthy  on  account  of  the  bitter 
prejudice  of  her  heart,)  from  seeing  and  being  exalted 
by  the  purity  of  her  character.  Her  high  imagination, 
which  once  did  its  work  for  those  prejudices,  now 
seemed  to  play  with  the  mingled  elements  of  the  an 
guish  of  her  remorse,  and  the  pleasure  which  she  had 
in  knowing  that  those  prejudices  were  dead.  She  as 
sumed  an  erecter  position  as  she  entered,  as  if  the  fiend 
of  pride  within  her  in  its  expiring  struggle,  towered  for 
a  moment.  But  she  moved  from  the  statue's  stillness 
towards  the  bedside.  Quickly  placing  her  hands  upon 
her  bosom  she  cried  with  bitter  emotion,  "  Dear  Dinah, 
forgive  me,  forgive  me  for  what  I  have  done  !  "  The 
light  of  Dinah's  goodness  thus  breaking  in  a  dazzling 
flood  over  her  spirit,  she  fell  in  a  cringing,  abased 
attitude  by  her  side.  Had  she  dared,  she  would 
have  pressed  the  pallid  hand  of  her  whom  she  had 
been  persecuting,  but  in  the  freshening  degradation  of 
her  remorse,  it  seemed  almost  like  an  impious  sacri 
lege.  She  felt  that  hand  seek  her  own  in  gentle  kind 
ness,  and  heard  the  murmur  of  tranquil  delight  and 
sorrowful  love  from  the  lips  of  the  adjacent  sufferer. 
She  knew  it  was  but  the  sweet  echo  of  the  pardon 
which  had  long  since  been  made — made  as  soon  as  that 
bright  intellect  had  conceived  the  persecution.  The 


DINAH.  457 

sin  of  her  pride  was  conquered  forever  by  her  remorse, 
and  the  grand,  joyotis  science  of  goodness  was  mastered 
by  a  contemplation  of  the  young  girl's  sacrifice.  She 
even  felt  a  proud  pleasure  in  offering  up  to  Dinah's 
spotless  character  the  exposure  of  her  own  infirmities 
of  heart. 

"  I  knew  she  could  not  wrong  a  human  being," 
said  Dr.  Fuifles,  in  triumph. 

The  powers  of  the  young  girl  now  worked  fiercely 
in  their  endeavors  to  destroy  the  frame  which  they 
once  had  animated,  but  if  they  were  to  succeed,  her 
physical  appearance  was  still  so  fair  that  hardly  a  trace 
of  their  work  discovered  itself,  and  her  soul  seemed 
secretly,  rather  than  openly,  to  be  busy  filing  off  its 
chains,  like  a  prisoner.  Who  shall  tell  the  unutterable 
love  which  filled  her  bosom  for  the  bowed  spirit  of  the 
aged  father,  who  sat  hour  by  hour  at  her  side,  and  list 
ened  yet  with  hope  to  her  filial  words  ?  Charles  would 
come  into  the  room  at  morn,  and  she  would  say,  "  How 
do  you  do,  sir  ?  "  in  the  old  stately  way  which  was  nat 
ural  to  her,  and  smile  on  him  in  the  courtesy  of  her 
noble  ideas.  Or  a  robin,  the  red-breasted  darling  of 
children  and  men,  would  come  to  the  window  and  fly 
away  as  they  opened  it,  and  she  would  laugh  at 
Charles's  frantic  efforts  to  catch  him.  Returning  to 
her  bedside,  and  taking  her  hand,  he  would  laugh  too, 
and  try  to  plague  her,  but  all  the  while  with  the  smile 
on  his  lip,  there  was  something  gnawing  at  his  soul  as 
he  looked  in  her  face.  One  day  she  called  herself  fool 
ish  in  not  having  written  to  him  when  she  got  into 
trouble.  She  said  it  was  silly,  stupid — "I  was  like 
Penelope  who  stood  thinking  i-n  confusion,  and  put  a 
veil  over  her  face  because  she  couldn't  decide  between 
*20 


458  DINAH. 

her  father  and  her  husband."  As  he  saw  that  young 
creature  chastising  her  own  innocence  of  plan,  and  looked 
in  her  honest  face,  his  lip  quivered,  and  under  the  pre 
tence  of  getting  an  orange,  or  stirring  a  bowl,  he  turned 
away  to  weep  scalding  tears. 

More  than  once  did  he  thus  turn  away.  She  would 
then  move  restlessly  on  her  pillow,  and  seek  the  quiet 
for  her  frame  which  would  not  come.  Charles's  mother 
with  her  ever  bitter  repentance  hastening  her  steps 
in  their  labor  of  love,  and  Laura  and  Adeline,  with  their 
pleasant  faces,  gladdened  the  girl's  dear  wishes,  and 
gladdened  all  the  household  Avith  the  hopes  which  they 
now  and  then  carried  from  the  sick  chamber.  Pithkin, 
who  liked  Dinah  vehemently  ever  since  he  had  done 
her  a  favor,  gave  the  aunt  many  opportunities  of  sym 
pathetic  conversation  with  hmi  about  the  young  sufferer, 
and  all  through  that  household  reigned  the  quiet  of  hope 
and  of  fear. 

But  one  day  her  strength  appeared  to  be  rapidly 
failing  her,  and  seemingly  conscious  of  it  herself  she 
had  been  talking  with  Charles  in  a  serious,  earnest 
way,  about  what  he  must  do  as  long  as  he  lived  on 
earth,  for  himself,  for  the  poor,  for  society,  and  all  for 
God. 

"  I  thought  I  might  stay.  I  could  have  wished  to," 
said  she.  The  tears  flowed  quietly  from  her  eyes.  She 
rose  in  her  bed  as  if  she  were  trying  her  strength. 
"With  sudden  power  she  placed  her  feet  upon  the  floor 
and  stumbled  towards  her  lover  and  her  father. 
"  Charles  !  Father  !  "  cried  she,  quickly.  The  young 
man  caught  her  ere  she  fell,  and  as  he  sustained  her 
she  faintly  attempted  to  kiss  his  hand,  and  clasped  it 


DINAH.  459 

to  her  bosom.  The  father  bowed  his  sorrowful  head. 
A  languid  color  reddened  her  cheek  like  a  sunset  hue 
in  a  morning  sky,  and  a  smile  was  on  her  face  as  she 
reclined  again  on  the  pillow. 

A  heavy  sense  came  over  them  all.  The  young 
man  felt  condensed  into  the  moment  all  the  future  of 
melancholy  and  love  which  her  memory  could  carry 
with  it,  but  on  his  noble  face  there  was  not  a  trace  of 
emotion,  unless,  perhaps,  the  shadow  of  a  melancholy 
smile.  His  thoughts  and  his  hopes  were  evidently  in 
the  heaven  to  which  she  had  departed.  The  faint  odor 
of  the  flowers  of  spring  was  wafted  through  the  apart 
ment  from  the  open  casement,  and  outside  the  songs 
of  the  birds  might  be  heard,  and  the  bark  of  the  faithful 
friend  and  humble  companion  of  the  girl's  wanderings, 
with  the  happy  unconsciousness  of  his  limited  nature 
racing  over  the  sward  with  another  humble  member  of 
his  species.  AVith  the  other  domestics  at  the  door  of 
the  chamber,  the  earnest  Gluckinson  stood.  His  head 
rested  against  the  wall,  and  his  tears  flowed  in  un 
restrained  honor. 

Nat  entered  the  room  the  next  day  to  look  at  that 
form,  once  animated  by  a  soul  which  did  honor  to  hu 
manity.  He  principally  saw  two  pale  feet  and  the 
diamond  ring  of  her  wedding  yet  flashing  upon  her 
slender  finger.  And  again  the  sweet  look  of  resigna 
tion  so  familiar  in  life  seemed  to  be  meekly  fashioning 
the  lineaments  of  her  countenance,  as  though  the  spirit 
of  her  suffering,  accompanying  her  soul  to  heaven  and 
thrust  from  its  gates,  had  sought  again  to  animate  her 
body.  As  he  choked  down  his  emotion  while  with 
drawing,  Nat  felt  a  fierce  repining  at  the  existence 
of  sorrow  and  misery  in  the  world,  but  he  knew  that 


460  DINAH. 

God  is  just  in  afflictions  and  lie  earnestly  blessed  his 
!N"ame. 

There  were  no  carriages,  but  the  young  men  of  the 
village  bore  her  in  quiet  to  the  churchyard.  The 
maidens  went  before  with  flowers,  and  the  old  men 
followed  behind  bowed  in  silence.  The  dog  in  his 
glimmering  intelligence  sat  near  the  park  gate  and 
looked  wistfully  into  the  faces  of  the  mourners  as  they 
passed. 

The  recollection  of  Dinah  heightened  the  mother's 
love  for  her  son,  and  she  shared  with  him  his  unfailing 
sorrow.  One  day  of  the  spring  they  visited  her  grave 
together.  There  was  an  air  of  gentleness  about  the 
spot,  and  they  found  the  old  father  there.  He'  had 
stuck  flowers  in  grotesque  anxiety,  like  pins  in  a  pin 
cushion,  upon  the  mounds  raised  over  his  wife  and 
son,  and  in  his  hands  he  held  a  bunch  of  violets  he 
had  tired  his  aged  limbs  in  lonely  happiness  to  gather 
for  the  adornment  of  his  darling  girl's  grave.  He 
cried  in  bitterness,  and  fell  upon  the  mother's  neck, 
but  they  supported  his  tottering  steps  to  the  family 
carriage,  and  cheered  his  trialed  soul.  Sometimes  he 
lives  at  Laura's,  but  he  loves  Charles's  home,  where 
his  wife  and  daughter  once  lived. 

In  the  weary  watches  of  the  night  when  his  soul 
sighs  for  relief,  Charles  often  rises,  and  opening  his 
drawer  gazes  upon  something  which  he  treasures  with 
a  miser's  selfishness — a  pair  of  exquisite  slippers,  half 
worn,  which  once  adorned  her  darling  feet.  How  often 
has  he  seen  their  diminutive  points  thrust  from  beneath 
her  rustling  gown.  IBy  their  side  is  a  piece  of  paper 
with  the  word  "  Dinah  "  written  in  several  places,  up 
hill  and  down,  in  a  large  hand  with  grand  flourishes 


DIN  An.  461 

about  them.  He  had  found  it  in  the  little  room  which 
she  once  occupied  as  a  dependant  in  the  house,  and  in 
which  she  had  probably  been  trying  her  pen  in  idle 
fancy. 


CHAPTER   LXXI. 

CONCLUSION. 

SOME  time  after  the  occurrences  related  in  the  last 
chapter,  Charles  and  Mr.  Bonney  each  received  an 
epistle  from  their  old  friends,  Col.  Norcomb  and  his 
wife,  indited  at  their  plantation  near  Charleston.  The 
letter  to  Charles  bore  a  black  seal,  for  even  in  such 
ways  did  the  warm-hearted  Southerners  endeavor  to 
show  their  respect  for  the  memory  of  the  dead  girl, 
ind  sympathy  with  her  lover.  Amidst  the  tributary 
sorrow  of  friendship  which  tinged  their  words,  they 
could  not  refrain  from  dwelling  upon  the  fact  that 
they  had  always  felt  the  nobleness  and  purity  of  her 
character.  That  rather  than  believe  otherwise,  they 
had  even  determinedly  suppressed  but  as  a  work  of  his 
fancy,  an  incident  which  occurred  to  the  Colonel  on  the 
night  of  the  brother's  attempt  to  abstract  the  deed, 
when  he  imagined,  as  he  approached  along  the  hall,  a 
strange  retreating  voice  crying  "  Dinah !  "  with  a  curse ; 
an  incident  which  was  now  so  sorrowfully  explained 
to  be  a  truth.  The  letter  conveyed  news  to  Charles  of 
the  birth  of  two  lovely  twin  daughters  to  them,  to  be 
named  Dinah  and  Laura,  and  wound  up  with  a  hope 
that  he  would  soon  see  them  come  to  reside  perma- 


4:62  DINAH. 

nently  in  a  part  of  the  Union  which  was  free  from  the 
great  political  curse. 

The  letter  to  Nat  thus  commenced  :  "  I  herewith 
despatch  to  you  the  overseer  Baylon,  in  charge  of  a 
constable  !  He  was  taken  in  a  swamp  by  my  niggers, 
who,  for  the  first  time  ever  known,  gratified  me  by 
laboring  zealously  to  capture  him.  *  *  *  *  My 
neighbors,  insisting  upon  it  that  he  was  an  abolitionist, 
immediately  issued  to  distant  friends  cards  of  invitation 
to  assist  at  a  burning,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  I  saved 
him  for  you.  Such  was  his  gratitude  to  me,  that  he 
made  a  confession  of  all  his  misdeeds,  and  I  think  if 
that  profound  jurist,  Pithkin,  has  not  any  thing  to  do 
with  his  trial  you  can  easily  gratify  the  desperate  Oba- 
diah's  wish  to  retire  awhile  to  some  pleasant  monastery 
from  the  care  and  solicitude  of  earthly  existence." 

Nat's  approaching  marriage  was  the  theme  of  many 
happy  wishes,  and  the  advent  of  the  little  twins,  (one  of 
whom  was  to  be  named  Laura  Nathaniel,)  of  many  play« 
ful  allusions  to  Mrs.  Norcomb's  fondness  for  her  sex. 
and  of  the  father's  determination  to  bring  them  up  into 
that  womanliness  which  should  render  them  worthy  of 
such  love,  apart  from  a  mother's  feelings. 

It  is  sufficient  to  say  here,  briefly,  that  Obadiah  was 
tried  in  due  time  for  his  crime  before  Judge  Pithkin, 
who  had  now  become  an  associate  Justice  of  the  Court 
of  Sessions,  and  Nat  as  District  Attorney  succeeded  in 
convicting  him  in  spite  of  the  Colonel's  fears.  In  his 
ardor,  in  fact,  the  judge  sentenced  the  overseer  "  to  be 
hung  by  his  neck  until  he  was  dead,"  but  on  being  re 
minded  that  the  prisoner  was  not  convicted  of  a  capital 
crime,  he  merely  sent  him  to  the  penitentiary  for  twelve 
years.  One  night  late  in  a  cell  adjoining  that  in  which 


i)  IN  Air. 

Baylon  was  incarcerated,  the  prisoners  heard  a  peculiar 
noise  within  the  solitary  chamber  of  the  latter,  and  dead 
ened  by  the  .thick  walls  which  intervened.  On  its  be 
ing  entered,  he  was  found  without  life.  The  satyr  for 
money  had  turned  in  upon  his  bed,  and  died,  it  being 
his  last  humorous  effort,  and  one  which  made  for  him 
many  genial  acquaintances  in  a  new  sphere.  As  for 
his  friend,  the  apothecary,  nothing  remarkable  has  yet 
taken  place  in  his  personal  experience,  excepting,  per 
haps,  an  accident  which  occurred  to  him  upon  the  last 
Fourth  of  July,  when  he  was  severely  wounded  by  an 
extraordinary  burst  of  eloquence  from  a  village  orator, 
it  being  entirely  in  a  moral  way  and  referring  to  the 
peculiar  envy  of  his  existence. 

One  day  last  year,  being  in  company  with  Judge 
Pithkin  and  young  Nat,  the  spinster  deliberately  pro 
posed  to  the  former,  being  the  first  case  of  the  kind  on 
record,  and  thus  inaugurating  a  new  era  in  matrimonial 
affairs  which  will  be  hailed  with  satisfaction  by  every 
one.  Mr.  Pithkin  was  unable  to  gasp  a  single  word  to 
the  lady  in  reply,  but  he  shouted  fearfully  to  Nat  for 
aid,  on  the  principle,  perhaps,  that  in  any  great  emotion 
we  can  speak  better  to  those  whom  we  are  not  partic 
ularly  interested  in,  than  to  those  in  whom  we  are. 
He  afterwards  murmured  something  about  being  un 
well.  "  My  prognostications  have  been  fearfully  re 
alized,"  said  he  finally,  with  a  ghastly  smile.  "  I  have 
one  consolation,  however.  I  have  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  I  am  a  true  prophet."  He  was  married  soon 
afterwards  to  her  by  Dr.  Fuffles,  who  at  first  refused  to 
perform  the  ceremony,  intimating  his  fears,  that  as  he 
was  a  single  man,  the  lady  might  take  it  into  her  head 
to  prefer  him.  There  was  no  difficulty,  however,  upon 


4:64:  DINAH. 

that  occasion,  excepting  a  little  distraction  on  the  bride's 
part,  caused  by  an  overwhelming  desire  to  stand  at  one 
side  and  see  the  ceremony  On  his  marriage  tour,  Pith- 
kin  tried  to  lose  her,  but  being  unsuccessful  he  has 
settled  down  and  gets  along  very  well  with  her,  except 
on  occasions  of  extraordinary  excitement  in  the  neigh 
borhood,  such  as  dress  balls,  musters,  and  the  like,  when 
she  excites  him  by  proposing  apparent  impossibilities 
to  be  executed  on  their  part,  and  afterwards  filling  him 
with  admiration  by  achieving  them.  On  the  last  of 
these  occasions  she  astounded  him  by  proposing  to  go  to 
a  fancy  ball  as  an  animated  hour-glass,  and  actually 
triumphed  in  dressing  for  this  character  by  putting  on 
two  crinoline  petticoats,  one  expanding  upward  ancl  the 
other  downward.  There  is  also  another  slight  cause  of 
excitement  in  the  judge's  mind  with  regard  to  his  wife, 
consisting  in  a  singular  mystery  which  seems  to  be 
connected  in  her  thoughts  with  the  name  of  the  gal 
lant  Southerner.  As  he  often  feels  compelled  to  re 
lieve  his  antipathy  to  the  Colonel  by  alluding  to  him 
in  an  opprobrious  manner,  he  observes  on  these  occa 
sions  that  his  wife  invariably  ejaculates  something 
about  "  a  fatal  blow,."  connected  with  the  Southerner's 
experience,  which  he  as  yet  has  been  wholly  unable  to 
discover  the  exact  species  of — whether  a  blow  on  the 
nose  of  the  latter,  or  a  high  wind  in  which  he  was  in 
volved,  he  knows  not. 

Having  accompanied  the  family  to  the  metropolis 
lately  and  witnessed  a  tragedy,  she  resolved  to  write 
one  on  returning  home.  Although  her  figures  ran  sadly 
into  one  another  and  she  found  it  utterly  impossible  to 
control  her  imagination,  she  got  as  far  as  the  last  of  the 
fourth  act  with  it.  but  having  unfortunately  killed  oft' 


DINAH.  465 

all  tlie  characters  but  one  fellow,  she  was  unable  to  go 
on  any  further  because  he  had  no  one  to  talk  to.  How 
ever,  it  was  enacted  with  great  success  at  the  village 
Lyceum,  the  place  of  the  fifth  act  being  supplied  by 
performances  on  a  tight  rope,  the  artist  being  also 
tight.  On  the  third  night  of  the  run,  however,  the 
performances  were  brought  to  an  abrupt  .and  unfinished 
conclusion,  and  it  was  afterwards  understood  that  the 
play  had  been  suppressed  by  the  authorities  as  being 
too  exciting. 

The  honest  Gluckinson  has  been  appointed  coach 
man  to  Mrs.  Pithkin,  and  may  now  be  seen  every  fine 
day  issuing  from  the  gates  of  the  Pithkin  manor  in  the 
Pithkin  carriage,  with  Mrs.  Pithkin  seated  behind  in 
great  pomp,  on  her  way  to  visit  the  sick  and  poor  of 
the  parish.  Yery  lately,  however,  he  has  frequently  ex 
pressed  his  regrets  at  not  having  been  "  born  of  respect 
able  parents  in  New  Orleans,"  and  it  is  supposed  that 
the  piratical  tendencies  of  his  nature  at  times  create  a 
strong  desire  in  his  bosom  to  be  hung.  His  enemy  the 
cook  has  become  Mrs.  Sucker,  and  the  devoted  Sucker 
has  taken  his  place  in  the  peculiar  relations  which  ex 
isted  between  them. 

"Whenever  Squire  "VVellwood  scolds  Nat's  wife,  as 
he  thinks  it  his  duty  as  her  parent  to  keep  up  that 
practice,  Nat  takes  his  revenge  in  scolding  his  daugh 
ter.  Just  after  his  marriage,  Nat  was  very  much  dis 
tracted  with  the  question  as  to  how  he  should  raise  his 
children ;  whether  he  should  let  them  associate  with 
other  boys,  or  keep  them  in  on  the  secluded  principle ; 
and  as  he  hasn't  got  enough  of  'em  yet,  having  only  one 
up  to  the  present  moment,  the  question  is  not  yet  set 
tled.  The  Squire  frequently  alludes  in  admiration  to 


466  DINAH. 

Dinah's  life.  "  She  was  a  noble  girl.  But  just  think 
of  it,  Nat,  if  she  had  only  said  nothing  about  the  deed, 
we  might  have  captured  Mudgeon.  However,  what's 
the  use  repining  ? "  The  relentless  Mudgeon,  consider 
ing  the  times,  contemplates  establishing  a  cannon  fac 
tory  upon  the  Gosling  farms,  and  already  the  sound  of 
an  indefinite  number  of  future  pieces  of  ordnance  is 
reverberating  in  the  prospective  imagination  of  the  en 
raged  parent.  He  relieves  himself,  however,  in  the 
usual  manner  of  the  Arabian  Nights.  The  mother  ex 
tended  her  benevolence  to  the  faithful  negroes,  now  in 
Canada,  who  had  protected  Dinah  in  her  suffering,  and 
the  request  that  the  little  orphans  should  be  cared  for 
was  not  forgotten. 

Dinah's  character  was  goodness  ever,  but  in  that 
there  can  be  no  monotony.  The  remembrance  of  her 
in  the  neighborhood  is  not  more  spiritual  and  poetic 
than  was  her  life,  and  the  sculptured  angel  with  folded 
wings  which  stands  over  her  tomb  may  well  be  consid 
ered  as  a  representation  of  the  girl  herself,  as  she  stood 
through  life,  bending  in  heavenly  resignation  over  her 
own  hopes. 


THE  END. 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

305  De  Neve  Drive  -  Parking  Lot  17  •  Box  951388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA  90095-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library  from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


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